POPLHLTH 760: Principles of Public Health, semester 1, 2023 Assignment 1 Format:

POPLHLTH 760: Principles of Public Health, semester 1, 2023
Assignment 1
Format: Academic essay
Word limit: 1500 words
Background
Geoffrey Rose introduced the concepts of ‘high-risk’ and ‘population’ strategies. ‘High-risk’
strategies, such as clinicians educating selected patients, are intuitively appealing. However,
‘population’ strategies, such as regulation and taxation, also have merits. In his paper, Rose also lists
advantages and disadvantages of the ‘high-risk’ and ‘population’ strategies, including what he calls
the ‘prevention paradox’.
Essay instructions:
1. Explain how your assigned risk factor contributes to the burden of non-communicable
disease in Aotearoa/NZ and globally. (Use no more than 250 words for this part.)
2. For BOTH the ‘high-risk’ and ‘population’ strategies, describe a current example that
relates to your assigned risk factor. Explain what it is about that example that makes it
correspond to that strategy. One example should be from Aotearoa/NZ and the other
should be international or in another country. One example should be a high-risk example,
and the other a population example. This means you should include TWO examples in
total (not four). Your examples should be from 2022 or later.
3. Discuss how the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy, as discussed in Rose’s
article, apply to your examples. Include at least TWO advantages and TWO disadvantages
that Rose discusses for EACH of the two strategies. Apply the ‘prevention paradox’ to your
examples in your discussion.
In your essay, make sure you keep the scope focused on the essay instructions above, and make sure
this is clear to the reader. Please note that you are not expected to discuss social determinants of
health, health equity or environments in this assignment – these will be the topics for assignment 2.
Try to give your essay a clear and logical structure.
The supplied references will be useful for your assignment, but please make sure you also read more
widely than this, and reference your work appropriately.
Each student will be assigned one health risk factor, available on the course website.
There are four
health risk factors in total: tobacco, alcohol, nutrition and physical activity.
Assignment process
Your Essay should be formatted in paragraphs and must include an introduction, body, conclusion and references.
Reference: Rose G. Sick individuals and sick populations. Int J Epidemiol. 1985;14(1):32-8.
doi:10.1093/ije/14.1.32.
Risk factor resources: These reports include information about a range of different health risk factors, including those selected for assignment 1, and may be useful references for your assignment.
New Zealand:
Health Loss in New Zealand: A report from the New Zealand Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study 2006–2016 (Links to an external site.)
Global:
Global action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2020Links to an external site.
Global health risksLinks to an external site.