Exercises - PH 414: Law, Government, and Public Health

In addition to a variety of learning activities, there are 3 instructor-evaluated activities associated with PH 414: (1) complete the individual exercise; (2) participate in a multi-learner conferencing exercise; and (3) complete and submit the assessment quiz. Each of these is explained below.

Learning Activities (Note: these ARE NOT to be submitted!)

A series of individual learning exercises for this module are provided below. Completing these exercises will familiarize you with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that relate to the competency expectation for this module that is described above. Note that learners are not required to submit written response for these learning exercises. Completing these exercises, however, will prepare you for components of this module that are assessed and scored.

  1. Read Chapter 4, Public Health: What It Is and How and Works, 3rd Edition.
  2. What is the basis for the historical tension between the powers of the federal government and the powers of states in public health matters? Provide examples of how this tension is manifested in current-day public health activities.
  3. How has the progression of the HIV/AIDS epidemic during the 1980s and 1990s impacted governmental public health agencies? (or examine the impact on governmental public health agencies of West Nile virus progression in Illinois 2002 if you would prefer!)
  4. For the prevention of motor vehicle injuries (see Motor Vehicle Safety in the Century of Progress in Public Health case study), review how responsibilities for motor vehicle safety are assigned or delegated among the three levels of government (federal, state, local) and among various agencies within each level of government. Who is responsible for what and what role does administrative law play in carrying out these responsibilities? Cite a recent example of public health rules or regulations related to motor vehicle safety in the news media, such as the recent massive recall of defective tires by one manufacturer. Was the public's health protected by these regulations? Why or why not? (Several media web sites are included in the catalog of public health web sites at the course syllabus site.)
  5. Describe the basic structure of a typical local health department (LHD) in the United States in terms of the type and size of the jurisdiction served, budget, staff, and agency head. (The National Association of County and City Health Officials web site may be useful here, as well as Exhibit 4-4 from the text!). Would the typical LHD look different from the perspective of the average citizen and the average LHD director? How?
  6. Review the roles and responsibilities for the various federal public health agencies (see Figure 4-1 and Exhibit 4-1 from the text) and list the three that you believe are most important. Then examine the various PHS agency budget requests for federal fiscal year 1999 and the general themes for funding in the most recent federal budget. Is your listing of the most important federal public health responsibilities consistent with spending levels for public health activities among these federal agencies?
  7. Use the link to State health agency web sites provided at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials web site and examine state health department web sites for ONE of the following pairs of states: (a) New York and Massachusetts (b) California and Arizona (c) Washington and Florida (d) Illinois and Virginia or (e) Ohio and Mississippi. Compare and contrast the 2 organizations in terms of their structure, general functions, specific services, resources, and other important features and briefly discuss the implications of any differences.

Evaluated Activities (Note: these ARE to be submitted!)

(1) Individual Exercises

Each learner will submit a brief response to the following exercise. Produce your response on a separate document to be uploaded at the "Submit Assignments" link. Please use "PH 414 Individual Exercise" as the title of your submission.

Make arrangements to attend a meeting of an official board of health (these meetings are open to the public). This may require some advanced planning since many boards of health meet only once a month. If you are unsure of what a board of health is, visit the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) web site, especially the article "About Local Boards of Health." Another useful article is Boards of Health as a Venues for Clean Indoor Air Policy Making. (PDF format; Dearlove JV and Glantz SA. AJPH 2002;92:257-265). After attending the meeting, develop a brief (no more than 300 words) report that relates the agenda of the meeting to specific roles and responsibility of the board of health. If you are able identify any interest groups on the agenda or at the meeting, add these to your report as well. Submit your brief report at the your private conference site, using "Board of Health Report" as the title of your submission. Be sure to review other Board of Health reports and identify similarities and difference among the reports listed there and your own experience in attending a board of health meeting.

(2) Conferencing Exercise

Add your contributions to this multi-learner conferencing exercise. Produce your response on a separate document to be uploaded at the "Submit Assignments" link. Please use "PH 414 Conferencing Exercises" as the title of your submission.

Briefly describe the most important implications of the information presented in a series of charts depicting public health expenditures for the various levels of government from 1960-2000 in terms of the relative roles and importance of the three different levels of government for exercising government's "police power" and promoting "general welfare" among the populace. Submit your brief contribution (less than 300 words) at the PH 414 Conferencing Exercise site.

(3) Assessment Quiz

Follow the LearningSpace link to the Assessment Quiz. You may be asked for your login ID and password to access the quiz through your Preparedness Center Personal Page. Complete the quiz and submit your responses. You make take the quiz several times.

Course Evaluation: All learners are asked to electronically complete a Course Evaluation Questionnaire; this is available to you as an electronic form and will be transmitted to a data base without your identity being known, and your instructor will have no way to link your identity to your comments. Before participating in these course evaluation activities, students should review the specific learning objectives established for this course (and others you may have taken as part of this series); these are available in the Syllabus. Evaluation of the course should focus on the extent to which these objectives were achieved.

PH 414 Exercises last revised June 29, 2005 (dkapadia)