Topic for Epidemiological Research
Designing an intervention can be challenging, as it is important to gather information about the selected topic and community of interest. Selecting a research topic is critical, especially when there are so many topics that seem important to study. A community needs assessment is a great way to begin creating an intervention, by first understanding the health problems within a community that need the most assistance.
For this assignment, you will perform a community needs assessment, demonstrating your understanding of the scope and magnitude of health problems within a community, and develop a fact sheet that could be used to share your needs assessment findings with community members.
Instructions
Complete this assignment in two parts.
Part 1: Needs Assessment
Select a public health problem or condition from a community of interest that is supported by data.
Apply evidence-based data to highlight the severity of an identified epidemiological issue in the community.
Analyze the risk factors based on the results of a needs assessment and other supporting data.
What are the risk factors for the selected problem?
Are these risk factors modifiable with behavior change?
What can community members do to prevent this problem?
Use the Needs Assessment Template, linked in the resources. Your needs assessment should be 3–5 pages in length.
Describe your selected population, and provide the relevant demographic data.
List three public health problems identified from the needs assessment.
Select the problem or condition you will be addressing, based on the data presented.
Identify who bears the burden of the selected problem or condition.
Identify five risk factors associated with the selected problem or condition.
Discuss disease trends of the past five years.
Needs Assessment Requirements
The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the Topic for Epidemiological Research Scoring Guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.
Apply evidence-based data to highlight the severity of an identified epidemiological issue in the community.
Identify the risk factors associated with the community health problem or condition, based on the results of your needs assessment and other supporting data.
Communicate public health information in a way that encourages behavior change to help improve the health and well-being of a targeted population group.
In this instance, imagine that you will be communicating with community members in hopes that they would be willing to take action related to the issue identified.
Part 2: Fact Sheet
Select a target audience and develop a public health fact sheet, with which to share your findings. Design your fact sheet in a manner that encourages behavior change at some level from members of your targeted community.
What population is affected?
What is the age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, et cetera of the target population?
What percent of the U.S. population is affected?
What are the risk factors associated with this problem?
What can people do to prevent this problem? Are there resources to address it?
