Week 3 Checkpoint

Purpose Public health surveillance systems are designed to support decision-making, but the measures they produce do not automatically translate into policy. This checkpoint helps you explore how surveillance data are structured and begin thinking about how epidemiologic measures might be used to support, or question, a public health action. This activity prepares you for the Week 4 Policy Interpretation Brief. Activity Overview You will explore one public health surveillance system, identify epidemiologic measures related to a health issue of interest, and propose a tentative policy-relevant position based on those measures. Before starting this checkpoint, review the Week 4 Policy Interpretation Brief assignment instructions and template. You are not expected to complete the Week 4 assignment yet. Instead, this checkpoint is designed to help you explore surveillance systems and epidemiologic measures with a specific policy-oriented task in mind. The tentative policy position you develop this week is a starting point only and may be revised or replaced in Week 4. Instructions Select a Surveillance System Choose one: CDC WONDER County Health Rankings WHO Global Health Estimates Identify Epidemiologic Measures Locate two epidemiologic measures or population health indicators related to a health issue of interest. For each measure, briefly describe: The name of the measure or indicator The population and time frame represented Why does this measure exist (what public health question is it designed to address?) Do not interpret trends or compare groups yet. Draft a Tentative Policy Position Based on the measures you identified, write a draft policy-relevant position. Examples: Based on current surveillance measures, this health issue appears to warrant prioritization in this population. Existing surveillance indicators are insufficient to justify major policy change. Surveillance measures suggest targeted intervention may be more appropriate than population-wide action. This position is preliminary and may be revised. Anticipated Challenges in Interpretation Briefly reflect on: What uncertainties or limitations have you already noticed in the data What additional information would you want before making a strong policy recommendation Submission Format Short written response (approximately 1-2 double-spaced pages) Bullets and short paragraphs encouraged