Choose a health issue in which you are interested from, learn how public health professionals advocate for it, and discuss how their work relates to our guiding principles.
Section 1: The agency and their mission, vision, and values statements:
Q1. Which topic (health issue) from the list have you chosen to address? Why is this topic important or interesting to you? (Please do not simply say, “I care about it.”) Answer in a full paragraph of at least four sentences.
Q2. What is the name of the advocacy agency you have selected? You may answer in a phrase or sentence. Remember: See the instructions for the criteria that need to be met. If you choose an agency that does not meet these criteria, you will be required to find a new agency and then re-write the assignment. Also,10 pts. will be deducted from this assignment.
Q3. What is the URL to the homepage of the website of this advocacy agency? You may simply copy and paste the website’s URL; no need to write a complete sentence.
Q4. What are the mission, vision, and values statements of the agency? Use quotation marks and include an in-text citation after each statement. (Notes: If a values statement is not found, look for something similar like “Our Pledge” or “Strategic Plan.” Some agencies do not have a values statement or anything comparable, but almost all agencies have mission and vision statements.)
Q5. What is/are the URL(s) to the specific webpage(s) where you found the mission, vision, and values statements? You may copy and paste the website’s URLs; no need to write a complete sentence.
Q6. Discuss how the agency’s mission, vision, and values statements relate to key public health concepts. To do this, name and discuss at least two key words or phrases in their statements that connect to at least two specific public health concepts. Hint: Describe how they connect to specific public health concepts, which are terms you learned in HS 205 and revisit in additional PH classes.
Section 2: Assessing the agency’s credibility through the CRAAP test
Q7. Currency: Was the information on the website current? Answer in at least one complete sentence. Hint: What was the date of publication of a fact sheet that you read on their website? OR What is the copyright date of the website?
Q8. Relevance: Who is the intended audience of the website? Answer in at least one complete sentence. Hint: When the authors designed the website, who did they think would be likely to visit and read it?
Q9. Authority: Who designed the website and wrote the articles found on the website, and what are their qualifications to write on this topic? (“Qualifications” refers to their degrees and job titles.) Answer in at least one complete sentence. Hint: If you cannot find one specific author, describe the qualifications of some of the people who work at the agency.
Q10. Accuracy: What type of evidence is included to support the information presented on the website or in their articles? Be sure to name their specific sources of information. Answer in at least one complete sentence. Hint: You will find this by looking at the list of citations on one of their articles or fact sheets. If the agency does not post facts about the health issue, please find a different agency for this assignment.
Q11. Purpose: What is the purpose or goal of this agency’s website? Is there any political, religious, cultural, or personal bias in the website? Answer in at least two complete sentences. Hint: Refer to the CRAAP test video for possible verbs that could be used your answer.
Section 3: Actions taken and recommended by the advocacy agency
Q12. Summarize how the agency’s staff advocates for the health issue. Answer the following questions in one full paragraph:
• What are some important facts about the agency’s background, history, philosophy, and their key accomplishments? This will likely be found under “About Us” or “What We Do.” (Include citations here!)
• How do the staff members of the agency advocate for the health issue? Hint: describe the programs, initiatives, and/or activities which address the health issue. This will likely be found under “Our work” or “What we do.” (Include citations here!)
If no citations from the agency’s website are included, 0 points will be awarded for this question.
Q13. Summarize how the agency encourages visitors to the website to advocate as well and reflect on your personal interest in the agency. Answer the following two questions in one full paragraph:
• How can visitors to the website advocate for this health issue? Hint: Which specific actions could they take? This will likely be found under called “Take action” or “Get involved.” (Include citations here!)
• Would you like to volunteer with or work for this agency? Why or why not?
If no citations from the agency’s website are included, 0 points will be awarded for this question.
Q14. Provide URLs to the two specific webpages where you found the above information about the agency’s actions and recommendations. You may simply copy and paste the website’s URLs; no need to write a complete sentence. You will provide one for the information about the staff’s program and initiatives. You will provide a second one for the information about the actions that may be taken by visitors to the website.
Section 4: Discussion of health disparities and health equity
Q15. Discuss the health outcomes and health disparities that could arise if the agency did not do this advocacy work.
Answer the following questions in one full paragraph:
• Which health outcomes, diseases, or problems would people develop if this advocacy work is not done?
• How would the health outcomes, diseases, or problems impact the people who experience them? What are the symptoms or health implications? (Include citations here!)
• Which group(s) of people would be more likely to develop the health problems, and why? (In other words, which health disparities might develop?) (Include citations here!)
Note: you should be able to find the answers to these questions on the agency’s website. If you cannot, you may find the answers on the website of the CDC or NIH. If you do that, add the CDC or NIH to your list of references.
If no citations are provided, 0 pts. will be awarded for this question.
Q16. Discuss how the agency supports health equity. Answer the following questions in one full paragraph:
• Define health equity. (Provide the definition from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and include a citation. (Here is the link: https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/healthequity/index.htm)
• How do the agency’s programs, initiatives, and/or activities support health equity?
• How do they ensure all people, regardless of demographic factors, have a fair chance to be healthy? Hint: discuss how they reach at-risk and/or underserved populations.
If citations are not included for both the definition and the agency’s programs, 0 points will be awarded for this question.
Section 5: Discussion of health as a human right
Q17. Describe how the advocacy agency supports our guiding principle of health as a human right. Write one full paragraph to answer this question:
• How do the agency’s actions to advocate for this health issue (through their programs and initiatives) support each of the four core components of the right to health (availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality) as described by the World Health Organization?
o Hints: Write at least one sentence to describe each component. Refer back to the article from the WHO posted in week 1 for guidance and include a citation to that article.
o If no citations are provided, 0 pts. will be awarded for this question.
Section 6: References
Q18. In correct APA format, provide the reference(s) for the webpages of the agency as they would appear on the last page of a research paper.
Since you will need to go to several different webpages within the website, be sure to include the URLS of the specific webpages where you found your information. (You will likely have at least five webpages listed.) Hint: consult the tips sheet I provide for you!
