Syllabus

Schedule

Weekly Schedule

• Week 1: Aug 24 – Aug 31
• Week 2: Aug 31 – Sep 7
• Week 3: Sep 7 – Sep 14
• Week 4: Sep 14 – Sep 21
• Week 5: Sep 21 – Sep 28
• Week 6: Sep 28 – Oct 5
• Week 7: Oct 5 – Oct 12
• Week 8: Oct 12 – Oct 16

Week 1: What is Public Health Policy?

Readings/Videos:

• Week 1 Lecture 1
• Week 1 Lecture 2
• Eyler text Chapters 1, 2, & 4

Assignments:

• Discussion: Introduce Yourself 

  • Welcome to GPH 707. Begin by introducing yourself to the class. What is your background in Public Health Policy? What are you most excited about learning? In what ways will this course come in handy for your Public Health Career?

    Note: for this and all discussions, posts are expected to be typed or pasted directly into Blackboard, not submitted as attachments.

• Week 1 Discussion

  • Initial post: After reading Eyler Chapter 2, find two examples of public health problems that could be addressed with more than one policy option. Discuss two different policy options for each example, identifying stakeholder groups that might favor or disfavor each option. Be specific about the policy choices so you can evaluate likely stakeholder response.

    Response post: Respond to at least two posts (can be in the same thread). Can you identify any other possible policy options for the public health problems discussed in the initial post? Or can you identify other stakeholder groups that might be invested in the policy option? Or based on your analysis of stakeholder perspectives, can you identify ways that stakeholders might respond differently than discussed in the initial post?

Week 2: Policy Process Theories, Part I

Readings/Videos:

• Week 2 Lecture
• Eyler, Chapter 4
• Weible, Chapter 1
• Craig, R. L., Felix, H. C., Walker, J. F., & Phillips, M. M. (2010). Public health professionals as policy entrepreneurs: Arkansas’s childhood obesity policy experience. American Journal of Public Health, 100(11), 2047-2052.

Assignments:

• Discussion:

  • Initial post: Provide an example from the national press or your state policy activities where events or people have significantly impacted public health policy action. Why were these people or these events influential at that/this moment in time? Explain how these people or events influenced political action on this public health issue.

    Response post: Respond to at least two posts (can be in the same thread). Do you feel similarly about the people or events described in the initial posts? Why or why not? What other social circumstances may have also influenced the policy action referenced in the initial posts or political response?

• Week 2 Written Assignment 

  • Apply the three MSF streams to recently proposed policies limiting tackle football by school youth.

    Please review the article: Rueb, E (2019). Massachusetts Bill Would Ban Tackle Football Until After Seventh Grade. New York Times

    Organize your paper according to the 3 “streams”, the policy “window”, and the policy entrepreneurs, as those terms are used in the literature. You may have to do some online research to locate information. Identify the three streams in this policy scenario and analyze how the three streams might or might not converge to open a policy window. Identify the policy entrepreneurs and explain their role.

    Format: 750-words, Arial, 12 pt font – 2 pages

Week 3: Policy Process Theories, Part II

Readings/Videos:

• Week 3 Lecture 1: Policy Feedback Theory
• Week 3 Lecture 2: Narrative Policy Framework
• Weible, Chapters 2, 3, and 5

Assignments:

• Discussion:

  • Initial post: Find and post the link to a news article from the past few years that represents either a stable (static, inert) policy or a dynamic, rapidly changing policy. Using PET concepts (e.g. serial processing, incrementalism, etc) describe some of the factors that have likely influenced the static or dynamic nature of the policy activity. Why do you believe these facts are relevant?

    Response post: Respond to at least two posts.  What feedback or questions do you have about their explanations? Do you view this policy activity similarly or differently? What other factors do you think have been influential, based on your knowledge or understanding of the policy?

Week 4: Diffusion of Innovations Theory

Readings/Videos:

• Week 4 Lecture: Diffusion of Innovations Applied to a Reframing Aging Innovation
• Weible, Chapter 7
• Dearing J, Cox J. Diffusion of innovations theory, principles, and practice. Health Aff. 2018; 37(2), 183-190.
• Atul Gawande. Sharing Slow Ideas. The New Yorker. July 29, 2013.

Assignments:

• Discussion:

  • Initial post: Find an example – recent or in the past – of a public health policy innovation that was adopted by the government (state or federal) quickly and one that either languished, was lost to history, or became obsolete. Using DOI concepts – specifically those addressed in the text regarding government policy adoption – explain why you think one was adopted and the other was not. Consider, for instance, whether there is/was evidence of learning, imitation, normative pressure, competition, or coercion (or the lack of those factors), in adoption decisions (see text pgs 256-260). Be specific.

    Response post: Is your understanding or analysis of government policy adoption by your peers similar or different? Would you apply the DOI concepts the same way or differently? Would you weigh the adoption factors similarly? Be specific and respond using DOI concepts regarding policy adoption.

• Week 4 Written Assignment

  • Review the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) from Week 3 and the following journal article:

    Crow DA, Lawlor A. Media in the Policy Process: Using Framing and Narratives to Understand Policy Influences. Rev Policy Res. 2016;33(5):472-491. doi:10.1111/ropr.12187

    Using a public health problem or issue of your choice, find four (4) credibly sourced mainstream media articles on the topic and analyze them using the NPF. See the example provided and use the assignment template to organize your analysis. Be sure to cover the major components of the NPF framework and address how the issue is framed for audience resonance or reaction.

Week 5: The Evidence Base in Policy: Part I Committee Hearings, Legislative History, the Legal Rulings

Readings/Videos:

• Week 5 Lecture: The Evidence for Policy and Where to Find it AND Legal Opinions as Policy
• Moreland-Russell, S., Barbero, C., Andersen, S., Geary, N., Dodson, E. A., & Brownson, R. C. (2015). “Hearing from all sides” how legislative testimony influences state level policy-makers in the United States. International journal of health policy and management, 4(2), 91.
• Clarke, B., & Policy, M. C. S. The Evidence Decision-Makers Want.
• Dodson E.A., Geary N.A., & Brownson R.C. State legislators’ sources and use of information: bridging the gap between research and policy. Health Educ Res. 2015 Dec;30(6):840-8. doi: 10.1093/her/cyv044. Epub 2015 Oct 13. PMID: 26464418; PMCID: PMC4769321.
• Walker, V. R. (2012). Moving the Strike Zone: How Judges Sometimes Make Law. U. Ill. L. Rev., 1207

Assignments:

• Discussion:

  • Initial post: Watch at least 30 minutes of the public hearing on the State of Washington’s recently passed Sexual Health Education bill (ESSB 5395). Imagine you are one of the House members who must vote on this bill. Using the six models describing how policymakers use public testimony (described in Moreland, et al), explain which models might be most helpful to you and why? Be specific and refer to the content of the testimony you watched (include the time stamp on the video so your peers can view it also).
    The full bill can is also available.

  • Response post: Respond to two (2) peers. Watch some of the testimony they reference in their posts and consider the models they include. Would you choose the same of different models? Why or why not? What might persuade you the most about this bill and why?

Week 6: The Evidence Base in Policy: Part II Public and Private Input into Policy

Readings/Videos:

• Week 6 Written Lecture: The Evidence Base in Policy: Part II Public and Private Input into Policy
• Kingdon J, Stano E. Agendas, alternatives, and public policies. 1984. Boston: Little, Brown. — Chapter 3
• Fell J, Voas R. Mothers against drunk driving (MADD): the first 25 years. Traffic Inj Prev 2006; 7(3): 195-212Berridge V. Public health activism: lessons from history?. BMJ. 2007;335(7633):1310-1312.
• Shaw E, Russell J, Parsons W, & Greenhalgh T. The view from nowhere? How think tanks work to shape health policy. Crit Policy Stud. 2015; 9(1): 58-77.

Assignments:

• Discussion:

  • Discussion: Group 1
    Initial post: Grassroots efforts to impact policy change can be more or less successful depending on the extent to which they garner political support and, eventually, policy support. Using the MADD article, find components of at least two (2) of the frameworks and theories you have studied to date and explain how they apply to the impact MADD has had on public health policy over its now nearly 40-year history.

    Discussion: Group 2
    Initial post: There are many private individuals and agencies that influence political agendas and public health policymaking. After reading Kingdon’s chapter (admittedly written in 1984), identify two current policy examples where the private sector (vs public sector) has primarily driven the policy or the agenda on the issue. As an example, hands-free driving laws, now quite common, were primarily the result of a single widely published study in the New England Journal of Medicine (see McCartt AT, Kidd DG, Teoh ER. Driver cellphone and texting bans in the United States: evidence of effectiveness. Ann Adv Automot Med. 2014;58:99-114).

    Response post: Respond to one peer in Group 1 and one peer in Group 2. What strikes you as noteworthy about their comments, analysis, or examples? What further questions does it raise? Be sure that your responses deepen the inquiry and discussion.

• Week 6 Quiz

Week 7: Legal Epidemiology

Readings/Videos:

• Burris, S., Cloud, L. K., & Penn, M. (2020). The Growing Field of Legal Epidemiology. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 26, S4-S9.
• Temple University Webinar on Legal Epidemiology

Assignments:

• Discussion

  • Initial post: Review the Law Atlas website and find a legal map on an issue of interest to you. Explain how surveillance data could impact policy decisions by state policymakers. What would you need or want to know in order to formulate an intervention — policy or other — to address this public health concern?

    You will need to do a brief online review and some professional reflection of the topic to understand how the state laws – and the differences among them – might impact public health. Be sure to incorporate all that you have learned thus far in the course! This initial post has additional points attached to it due to the level of effort required.

    Response post: Respond to one (1) peer. Review Chapter 4 of the Eyler text (see readings in Weeks 1 and 2) on the groups of policy stakeholders. Choose a stakeholder who might be invested in the policy issue described in your peers’ posts and explain your position on the policy and why. What are the public health goals or concerns, either short or long term or both, that support your position?

• Week 7 Written Assignment:

  • Read Chapter 17 (Public Health Advocacy) of Burris S, Berman M, et al The new public health law. 2018; New York, NY

    Using the four (4) strategy components that the authors describe on pg 209, develop a detailed advocacy strategy for a public health policy issue that is important to you. Be sure to also identify your policy goals and objectives within those goals. Remember, you are developing a strategy for policy action, not a programmatic intervention. If you are considering a policy analysis for your ILE, you might consider using that topic for this assignment.

Week 8: Public Health Policy Impact Measurement and Public Health Policy Enforcement

Readings/Videos:

• Week 8 Written Lecture: Public Health Policy Enforcement
• Weed 8 Written Lecture: Measuring the Impact of Public Health Policy
• M. Scott, C. (2005). Measuring Up to the Measurement Problem_The Role of Statistics in Evidence-Based Policymaking
• Chriqui, J., et al (2011) What Gets Measured, Gets Changed_Evaluating Law and Policy for Maximum Impact
• Brownson, R. (2010) Measuring the Impact of Public Health Policy

Assignments:

• Discussion

  • Initial post: Identify and describe one public health policy. Identify three specific possible metrics that would demonstrate some potential impacts of the policy. Are there certain stakeholders that would or would not want to measure policy impact this way? Why or why not?

    Response post: Comment on how these metrics help your understanding of the impact of this policy on society, communities, or specific populations? As a public health professional – or as a concerned voter – what additional data would you be looking for?

    Initial posts due by Friday by 11:59 pm. Response posts due by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

• Week 8 Assignment: Course Reflection
  • In a 750 word essay, summarize insights you have gained this term regarding:
    • How policy impacts our health behavior as individuals
    • How public health professionals can best use policy in the practice of public health (give 2 examples)

  • Be sure to refer to and integrate specific public health policy theories and frameworks, and their components learned over the course of the semester. Reflect on your greater awareness of the role of policy in the practice of public health and address any changes in your professional behavior you are likely to make with your newly developed policy knowledge.

Student Resources

Policies