USA Causes of Death by Age and Gender

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Examine the burden of disease in the United States to provide important information on which parameter is to base decisions on public health priorities.

To do this, we will utilize mortality data for the United States. In the first part of this assignment, you will download and examine mortality data for your home state.

Go to USA Causes of Death by Age and Gender

  • Choose your home state under the Choose State option (panel on left hand side)
  • Select BOTH under the Choose gender option in the middle panel.
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and read the fine print to learn for which year the mortality data have been tabulated.
  • Copy and paste the relevant mortality data into Excel.
    • Drag your mouse over all of the Cause of Death rows, (50 rows), right click, and select Copy,
    • Open Excel and paste your selection into Excel. You should have a spreadsheet with 50 row and 19 columns (Columns A-S).

For the first part of the assignment, you will prepare a histogram of the leading causes of death (regardless of age) in your state. Follow the steps below in order to prepare your histogram:

  • Sort the Data
    • The numbers of deaths, all ages, are given in Column C.
    • Select all the columns.
    • Then, select Data>Sort>Sort by Column C, Values, largest to smallest. (Make sure that my data has headers is not selected.
    • You now have the leading causes of death in your state in Column A (cause) and Column C (frequency).
  • If you already know how to draw a histogram in Excel, proceed to do so with Columns A and C, making sure to truncate the data to the 30 leading causes.
  • If you do not know how to draw a histogram in Excel, here’s one method:
    • Choose the Chart Wizard, chart type column, chart sub-type clustered column (Step 1).
    • Click Next for Step 2.
    • At Step 2, Click the Series button, which will open a new box.
    • Click Add under Series,
      • Enter Causes of Death in the Name box;
      • Clear the Values box, then
      • Drag your mouse over the 30 largest frequencies for the Values; and,
      • Drag your mouse over the first 30 causes of death (Column A) for the Category (X) axis labels box.
  • Click Next, and you’ll be brought to the Chart Options box.
  • Add a suitable title (e.g., Leading Causes of Death, 2010, your state)
  • Label the Y axis Frequency.
  • Click Next, and place the histogram in a new worksheet.

You now have a histogram with the leading causes of death for your state. This presents one picture of the burden of disease in your state, but it isn’t the only picture. We shall now look at a different metric: years of life lost due to each cause.

Evaluate the social determinants that may impact current public health issues within the U.S.

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Special Topics in Public Health Part

From the assigned readings this week, review the following Web resource:

World Health Organization (WHO). (2012). Social determinants of health. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/

Respond to the following:

Evaluate the social determinants that may impact current public health issues within the U.S.

Select a current public health issue in the U.S. and describe the social determinant that impacts the issue.

Describe existing practices that are in place to improve economic or social determinants. What additional measures can you recommend?

In your opinion, analyze whether more can be done to address the issue. Include an analysis of whether policy creates interference.

Special Topics in Public Health Part

From the assigned readings this week, review the following Web resource:

World Health Organization (WHO). (2012). Social determinants of health. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/

Respond to the following:

Evaluate the social determinants that may impact current public health issues within the U.S.

Select a current public health issue in the U.S. and describe the social determinant that impacts the issue.

Describe existing practices that are in place to improve economic or social determinants. What additional measures can you recommend?

In your opinion, analyze whether more can be done to address the issue. Include an analysis of whether policy creates interference.

 

 

Bioterrorism Threats

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Bioterrorism Threats

Select a potential bioterrorism threat from the following:

Anthrax
Food supply contamination
Water system contamination
Air borne contamination

Using the South University Online Library or the Internet, research on your selected potential bioterrorism threat. Based on your research, create a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word report that covers the following aspects in detail:

The main surveillance methods used in public health that could also be used to detect a bioterrorism threat.
The basic functions of all levels of government―federal, state, and local―when responding to a possible bioterrorism threat.
The existing surveillance systems and their adequacy to meet emergency preparedness needs.

Support your responses with examples.

Cite any sources in APA format.

Anthrax
Food supply contamination
Water system contamination
Air borne contamination

Using the South University Online Library or the Internet, research on your selected potential bioterrorism threat. Based on your research, create a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word report that covers the following aspects in detail:

The main surveillance methods used in public health that could also be used to detect a bioterrorism threat.
The basic functions of all levels of government―federal, state, and local―when responding to a possible bioterrorism threat.
The existing surveillance systems and their adequacy to meet emergency preparedness needs.

Support your responses with examples.

Cite any sources in APA format.

Public Health Intervention

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Public Health Intervention

You will examine and summarize the public health responses to your selected issue/topic which is HIV//AIDS…by identifying who is involved and what actions they are taking (the “who” and the “how”). Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: IV. Public Health Response: In this section, you will inspect the public health landscape to identify who is involved in responding to your public health issue and what actions they are taking. A. Describe the public health organizations involved in the response to the public health issue at the national and local levels. Use examples that show which entities are working on the issue and what they are doing. For example, what federal and local agencies and/or not-for-profit entities are involved, and what are their roles in the response? B. Explain the specific public health subdisciplines involved in understanding and responding to the issue, including what their roles are. Examples of public health subdisciplines include biostatistics, epidemiology, maternal and child health, and disaster-response planning. C. Explain the public health services involved in the response to the issue. What types of services, programs, or campaigns have been offered by organizations in response to the problem?