Current Issues in Public Health

Throughout history, the issues that affect population health have changed as new problems, technologies, and treatments have emerged. The future of public health will also be met with new challenges and issues, and these are likely to change and evolve over time. Consider, for example, the issue of fighting infections in humans. One hundred years ago, we did not have penicillin and had to rely on other means to reduce symptoms. Now, we have a plethora of medications designed to fight infection, and we face yet another issue: antibiotic resistance. Public health is a dynamic field that will likely always have issues and challenges through which to work.

Photo Credit: Getty ImagesIn this Assignment, you will locate peer-reviewed research on different public health topics, compare the articles, and describe potential changes within the topic area.
To Prepare for this Assignment:
Choose a topic from the following list of current emerging issues:Air pollution in developing countries
Global pandemics
Water scarcity due to climate change
Antibiotic resistance
Prescription drug overdose
Vector-borne disease distribution due to climate change
Emerging diseases
Food insecurityThe Assignment: 3–5 pages, excluding title page and references
After critically reading and reviewing the scholarly papers you selected, write a cohesive paper in which you address the following:Provide a background of the topic you chose.
Explain the magnitude of the issue.
Summarize the information in the peer-reviewed articles.
Compare and contrast the articles.
Describe the projected future trends in the topic area.
Explain what public health efforts/initiatives are needed to address the issue.
Describe the ethical issues to be considered in addressing the issue.
Your paper should reflect the skills you have gained through this course, including:Engaging in critical analysis
Writing in a scholarly voice
Citing references using proper APA format
Including a title page at the beginning and a reference list at the end of the paper (these are not counted in the page length)