Archive for year: 2019

Question 1
Future drugs and vaccines for the use against Ebola

Pick an experimental drug, vaccine or other treatment that is being considered in the fight against Ebola. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/qa-experimental-treatments.html

Write a response to the following discussion question in the Discussion forum:

How exactly does the experimental treatment you have chosen work?
Provide a brief history of where we are now with the potential treatment.
How is it produced?
When do the developers of the treatment believe they will be able to begin experimental treatments?
Initial answers to the discussion question must be substantive and in the range of 350–500 words. Any references used should be properly cited following APA formatting guidelines.

Question 2
CDC’s New Superbug: CRE

CRE, which stands for Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, are a part of Enterobacteriaceae that are difficult to treat because they are resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Occasionally CRE are completely resistant to all available antibiotics. CRE have become a nightmare to infection control in health care facilities. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/05/superbugs-infections-hospitals/1965133/ http://www.cdc.gov/hai/organisms/cre/

Write a response to the following discussion question in the Discussion forum:

Describe one of the new superbugs such as CRE, MRSA, Clostridium difficile, etc. that are causing havoc in our health care facilities.
What strategies are being employed to combat these new threats to our public health?
Initial answers to the discussion question must be substantive and in the range of 350–500 words. Any references used should be properly cited following APA formatting guidelines.

Question 3
2nd New Hampshire resident dies of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)

New Hampshire public health officials say a Manchester [Hillsborough County] resident is the 2nd person to die from eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus infection this season, summer and fall 2014. Public Health Director Dr. Jose Montero says the individual was exposed to the virus at the end of August and died in mid-September 2014. He says testing was complicated, and the virus was not confirmed until after the patient died. In the 1st fatal case, someone who became sick in the Conway, Carroll County, area in August died last month September 2014. A 3rd person also has been diagnosed with EEE, which is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes and can lead to seizures and coma. Symptoms can include high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, and sore throat. These cases in New Hampshire are not surprising since they occurred within the geographical range of EEE virus in the eastern USA, where human and equine cases occur sporadically. As is usual, there are many more equine than human cases. There have been recent human cases in New Hampshire and an equine case involving a mule. The virus is maintained in passerine birds and transmitted among them by the black-tailed mosquito, Culiseta melanura. The species occasionally feeds on mammals and may have been the bridge transmitter in the above case. Clinical cases in humans are very serious, with a case fatality rate of 33 per cent and significant neurological sequelae in survivors. It is prudent to follow the recommendations above to avoid mosquito bites, particularly in areas where equine cases have been reported. http://www.cdc.gov/EasternEquineEncephalitis/
The first symptoms of EEE are fever (often 103º to 106ºF), stiff neck, headache, and lack of energy. These symptoms show up three to ten days after a bite from an infected mosquito. Inflammation and swelling of the brain, called encephalitis, is the most dangerous and common serious complication. The disease generally worsens quickly, and some patients may go into a coma within a week. People have an important role to play in protecting themselves and their loved ones from illnesses caused by mosquitoes. The group of viruses is known as arthropod borne viruses or Arboviruses and EEE is one of the deadliest.

Write a response to the following discussion question in the Discussion forum:

Discuss one of the mosquito borne viruses such as there are four main virus agents of encephalitis in the United States: eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), western equine encephalitis (WEE), St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) and La Crosse (LAC) encephalitis, all of which are transmitted by mosquitoes.
What recent outbreaks did you find on the Internet?
What strategies are being employed to combat these threats to our public health?
Initial answers to the discussion question must be substantive and in the range of 350–500 words. Any references used should be properly cited following APA formatting guidelines.

Question 4
Hantavirus discovery now 20 years old

The New Mexico Health Department confirmed on April 19th 2013 that a 45-year-old McKinley County woman has contracted the 1st case of a hantavirus this year in the state. In 1993, a massive investigation by public health officials from federal, state, and local agencies quickly discovered that a previously unknown hantavirus named Sin Nombre virus was the cause of the illnesses, and the deer mouse Peromyscus maniculatus was mainly responsible for excreting the virus in its droppings and urine. The virus killed 3 Yosemite visitors and sickened 6 more last summer. http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3010686.shtml?cat=504

Write a response to the following discussion question in the Discussion forum:

Describe one of the outbreaks over the past 20 years.
What measures were used to prevent transmission of the virus?
Initial answers to the discussion question must be substantive and in the range of 350–500 words. Any references used should be properly cited following APA formatting guidelines.

Think, for a moment, about how dramatically communication has evolved over your lifetime. Were you born in a pre-Internet, pre-cell phone world? Do you remember a time when your phone calls had to be completed within a 3- to 6-foot radius of a rotary phone, because you were tethered by a phone cord?
One of the essential services of public health agencies is to inform, educate, and empower the public about health-related issues. Public health agencies, like all organizations in the modern world, must adapt to the new era of ubiquitous technology to communicate with the public. Newspaper and network news broadcasts, once essential communication tools, are quickly being eclipsed by social media. In 2012, almost 35% of 18- to 24-year-olds used social media to receive their news (Sasseen, Olmstead, & Mitchell, 2013).
Public health officials have begun using social media outlets to communicate important messages:
Sari Setiogi was worried. In the wake of the Japanese earthquake back in March 2011, panic about the effects of a possible radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant had caused a number of rumours to spring up on social networking site Twitter.
Chief among them was the misconception that drinking iodized wound cleaner and consuming large quantities of iodized table salt would reduce the effects of radiation (rather than potassium iodine tablets taken before exposure, which is recommended). Setiogi learned that people had started stockpiling salt in China. One person had built up a five-year supply. It was time for her to act. ….
The joint efforts paid off. “[For our part] we tweeted asking people not to eat excessive amounts of table salt because it leads to hypertension, and within a couple of days we’d heard people had run back to the shops and asked for refunds for the salt!” Setiogi says. “People retweeted our message and the number of messages telling people to buy the salt went down.” (“Mixed Uptake of Social Media,” 2011)
In this assignment, you analyze a current public health marketing campaign. In your 2 page analysis, you describe the message and target audience for the campaign, analyze the rationale behind the decision to deliver the message via social media, and apply your knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of different public health agencies.
The assignment (2 pages)
• Select an existing public health marketing campaign delivered through social media.
• Explain elements of the message that indicate the target audience.
• Identify the organization(s) responsible for creating the message and explain how the message contributes to fulfillment of this agency’s essential services.
• Provide a brief rationale for the campaign being delivered through social media.
• Explain how the campaign might promote existing policy, influence development of new policy, or modify existing policy.
• Identify additional agencies that could partner with the identified agency to reinforce this health message.

Prompt: To demonstrate your claim that your selected public health issue requires more research, you will conduct a literature review. You will critically examine five research articles from peer-reviewed academic journals and summarize your findings. Be sure to address the following:
● Describe the research designs employed in each study.

● Identify the research question in each study.

● What methods were used to collect and analyze data?

○ Please indicate if primary or secondary (or both) data sources were used in the study.

● What were the main findings in each of the studies?

● What are the strengths and weaknesses of the studies?

○ In this section you will want to evaluate the research design and the data collection and analysis methods employed by the researcher.

● How do these studies inform your public health issue and the need for further research?

Describe the differences in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention in public health. Provide one example for each level of public health prevention. For each example provided, explain the relationship between the example provided and the level of prevention. Also discuss the benefits and the potential consequences at each level.
Support your statements with scholarly references and appropriate examples.

Evaluation Criteria:
• Described the differences in the levels of prevention.
• Provided an example of each level of prevention.
• Discussed the benefits and consequences of each level of prevention.
• Justified your answers with appropriate research and reasoning.
• Commented on the postings of at least two of your classmates

The principle states that children’s advocates must take action when the health and safety of children (and Mothers) are at risk. We as public health practitioners must take preventive action, to intervene, reduce these risks and get the public involved in decisions that support environmental health. Ehiri discusses the key components of this principle of action, in the chapter on Environment and GMCH.

Do a Site Visit to a location in your region, that provides a structured program (for example, a school program “The Walking Bus”) or provides clinical care, or takes action to create and plan policy and programs ( NGO’s, MPHI,DOT,MSU Extension Service, local legislators,Flint County Health or the State DEQ), that support safe environmental health for Children and Mothers. For example the Current Water Crises in Flint serves as a great example for you to review and critically assess.

Critically assess the programs’ ongoing goals and outcomes if appropriate. Record your observations and create a ‘plan of action’ (1 page written outline (plan of action) and 1.5 page summary,

In the last assignment, you selected a public health problem for which you will develop a PSA. For this assignment, you will examine your chosen PSA topic in more depth by researching the underlying social determinants of the public health problem you selected. You will also research the common measures of health used to research this problem. In this assignment, you will operationalize a particular instance of the concepts discussed in the readings.

Directions:
Use the readings for the module, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet to research common measures of health to complete the below assignment.

In 3 pages:

1. Identify and analyze the underlying determinants and contributing factors of the problem? Include your thoughts on factors such as social and political trends.
2. Determine what common measures of health can be used for your selected problem.
3. Determine the goals of your PSA.
4. Justify your reasoning with scholarly research.

Identify the major factors that have resulted in the shift in utilization from inpatient hospitalization to ambulatory care services. Describe the implications of this shift for hospitals, consumers, and the health care delivery system as a whole.
2. In what ways have private practice physicians responded to the expansion of hospital, health plans’ and other organization-sponsored ambulatory services? What are the implications of those responses for the patient, for the consumer, and for the health care industry as a whole?
3. Hospital emergency departments continue to be used as an ever more important source of primary medical care by large numbers of the community’s medically underserved population. What are the implications of this practice for the patients, and on health care costs and quality of care? What would you propose as a means to change this situation?
4. Almost two-thirds of all surgical procedures are now performed in ambulatory surgery facilities. Discuss the reasons for this shift of surgery from the inpatient setting and its effect on hospitals and consumers.
5. Some people support the role of public health departments in providing preventive and treatment services as necessary to fill gaps in the system for the medically needy. Others believe these services are more efficiently and effectively provided through private organizations. What is your position on this issue and why?

Overview: The methodology section of a research proposal is the study blueprint. The methodology section clearly outlines the systematic approach the researcher will take to answer the research question. In this section, you will provide the blueprint for your research proposal by addressing the key elements including the population, the study sample and sample size, the location of your study, the timeline for the study (consider factors such as finding a location, hiring staff, recruitment, data collection process, etc.), and the costs associated with the research. In addition, the methodology section describes and outlines any ethical issues that the researcher must consider such as the recruitment of minors, cultural issues, payment of incentives to study participants, confidentiality, anonymity, and invasive procedures.

Your research design will inform the type of data analysis you must conduct to answer your research question(s). If you have chosen to propose a study that is quantitative in nature, such as a case-control study, cross-sectional, survey methodology, focus groups, or experimental study, then you will use statistical data analysis to answer your research questions. However, you may have chosen to propose a qualitative study, such as grounded theory, narratives, ethnography, or case study, which will require you to answer your research question(s) using rich descriptions, formulating concepts, or synthesizing experiences. Regardless of the study design, all research will address validity, reliability, and generalizability. Choose a data analysis plan that is suitable to the type of data you will be collecting.

Prompt: For your methodology section, be sure to address the following:

• Describe the population affected by the public health issue and the location of the population.

• What is the sample size you will need to answer your research question? Include the formula to be used for the sample size calculation.

• Explain your rationale for the study sample selection. What type of sample is it? (Snowball, systematic, random, convenience, etc.?)

• What type of study will you conduct? Examples include case-control, cross-sectional, grounded theory, quasi-experimental, etc.

• Study logistics: Where is the location of your study? What is the timeline for your study? What are the projected costs associated with the study?

• Consider and describe the ethical implications of this study. In this section you will want to thoughtfully and thoroughly describe any known or potential issue that may have ethical implications.

• Explain how you will address ethical issues.

For your data analysis section, please submit a detailed outline describing your proposed data analyses process. The process must be specific to the research design you have chosen and demonstrate a direct link to answering the research question. Be sure to address the following:

• What methods will you use to collect the data? (If instruments such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or similar tools will be used to collect data, indicate if it is an existing instrument or a new one.)

• Assess and confirm that the data collection methods are appropriate for the research design.

• What approaches will you use to analyze the data? For quantitative study designs, indicate the statistics you will employ, such as frequencies or logistic or linear regression analyses, etc., to answer your research question(s). For qualitative research designs, describe the way you will present the data to answer your research question(s).

Is your research design valid, reliable and generalizable? Provide a complete answer that addresses each element.