Assignment 1

Public Health Workforce Hiring Strategies

As you have learned this unit, one of the major factors in the successful operation of any public health organization is whether appropriate people have been hired for the roles. In this assignment, you will develop strategies that will help you in the very important process of identifying the right skill set needed for a job and the process of hiring the person best suited to that job.

Prepare for this assignment by reviewing your Learning Resources on job analysis and description, rules and regulations governing hiring, and good practices for interviewing.

Then imagine that you are hiring a health or program planner for your local or state health department. Analyze the job so that you understand what kinds of skills and background would be needed in order to perform that job well. In a two to three page paper, describe your strategies on how to fill that position, including the following specific elements:

1. Write a brief job description for this job (feel free to study other job descriptions to give you ideas, but you must engage in original thinking in this job analysis).
2. Describe where you would advertise or any other strategy you would engage in to recruit someone for this position, briefly explaining your rationale for these choices.
3. Describe what your approach would be in interviewing this person, and list three specific questions you would ask.
4. Identify at least one law, rule, or regulation that you would be guided by in your hiring process, and how you would make sure to stay in compliance with this regulation.

Your assignment should be a minimum of two pages in length, not including the title and reference pages. Include four quality references where two of them are from peer-reviewed articles. Use your own words, and include citations and references as needed to avoid plagiarism. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and be cited per APA style.

Assignment 2

Public Health Surveillance and Disaster Preparedness

Potentially one of the most serious of all public health crises is pandemic flu. In this unit’s assignment, you will describe plans for responding to such a pandemic.

Begin by browsing through the Pandemicflu.gov/Avianflu.gov, found at www.pandemicflu.gov, and familiarize yourself with the resources on the site. Then complete the following steps.

• Locate the document Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States.
• Read the “Executive Summary” and Appendix 3: “WHO Global Pandemic Phases and the Stages for Federal Government Response” from the document.
• Access the influenza plan for your own state, and scan it for information to respond to the exercise below.

For this assignment, assume that cluster(s) of avian influenza appear in your state. These are still localized but show some evidence of human transmission (phase 5).

Drawing on the resources from this website and your other Learning Resources this week, address the following questions.

• What surveillance steps do you follow and recommend?
• Describe the role of local and federal agencies in disease surveillance.
• What factors will determine or deter the success of your plan?
• Are you likely to control the outbreak so that it does not proceed to the pandemic phase 6?

Assignment 3

Would you add anything to the government’s plan, or do you think this is adequate?

Your assignment should be a minimum of two pages in length.

Question 1

identify the major events in the history of evolution of public health in the United States, then discuss how these events helped shape public health today. 

Your response should be at least 200 words in length

Question 2

Assess the public health elements of the Affordable Care Act. 

Your response should be at least 200 words in length.