Research the process by which state legalization of medical marijuana in California

LE002: Health Care Policy

Short Answer Submission Form

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Instructions

Write your responses where it reads “Enter your response here.” Write as much as needed to satisfy the requirements indicated. Each item contains the rubric which will be used to evaluate your responses.

Short Answer 1

Research the process by which state legalization of medical marijuana in California (Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act) occurred. Using the six-part policy-making process outlined below, describe what happened at each stage. Please refer to “Medical Marijuana Policy in the United States” provided with the Assessment documents. You may identify another state that is considering legalization of medical marijuana and is in the process of going through this policy process, and where in the process they currently find themselves.

· Problem Recognition: Problems that may potentially make their way onto the public policy agenda are recognized. (2–3 paragraphs)

· Agenda Setting: Problems that are deemed worthy of attention are placed on the agenda. (2–3 paragraphs)

· Policy Formulation: Various policies are crafted to deal with the problem that has been set on the agenda. (2–3 paragraphs)

· Policy Adoption: An official policy is agreed upon. (2–3 paragraphs)

· Policy Implementation: The public policy that has been officially agreed upon is put into action. (2–3 paragraphs)

· Policy Analysis and Evaluation: The implemented policy is evaluated for its effectiveness. (2–3 paragraphs)

Your Response

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Rubric

	0Not Present	1Needs Improvement	2Meets Expectations	3Exceeds Expectations
Sub-Competency 1: Apply the six-step policy-making process for improving the health status of populations.
Learning Objective 1.1:Apply the six-step policy process.	Application of the six-step policy process is missing.	Response is inaccurate or not thorough. Fewer than six steps are included in the response.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response accurately describes the problem, the agenda, the statement of need for policy formation, the policy that was adopted, how the policy was implemented, and how the policy was evaluated for effectiveness.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response draws a clear connection between the impacts of policy and policy formulation.Response uses data to support the connection.

Short Answer 2

Review data on motorcycle helmet laws available at http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/03/31/science/motorcycle-helmet-laws.html?hpw&rref=science&_r=2 and “Weaker Helmet Laws Increase Motorcycle Fatalities—LHSFNA,” provided with the Assessment documents.

· How did motorcycle fatalities increase as a percentage of total vehicle deaths in Florida between 2000 and 2005, and between 2005 and 2012, after Florida changed its helmet laws in 2000? (1–2 sentences)

· Provide a data-informed opinion regarding how changes in helmet laws affect motor vehicle fatalities. (2–3 paragraphs)

Your Response

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Rubric

	0Not Present	1Needs Improvement	2Meets Expectations	3Exceeds Expectations
Sub-Competency 2: Explain the impact of policy-making decisions upon public-health practice for improving the health status of populations.
Learning Objective 2.1: Describe the potential impact of laws on public health as they pertain to Florida’s helmet laws.	Description of the change in fatalities in Florida between 2000 and 2005, and between 2005 and 2012 after adopting weaker helmet laws is missing.	Response inaccurately describes the percentage increase in Florida fatalities between 2000 and 2005, and between 2005 and 2012, after adopting weaker helmet laws.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response accurately describes the percentage increase in Florida fatalities between 2000 and 2005, and between 2005 and 2012, after adopting weaker helmet laws.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response notes that the period in 2007 shows a decrease in fatalities, and offers a logical hypothesis about what could account for this decrease.
Learning Objective 2.2:Explain whether laws might influence an increase or decrease in fatalities.	Explanation about the relationship between weaker helmet laws and increased motorcycle fatalities is missing.	Response is present but argument is not supported by data that demonstrates the relationship between weaker helmet laws and motorcycle fatalities.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response accurately uses data and draws logical connections to demonstrate the relationship between weaker helmet laws and motorcycle fatalities.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response uses data and logic to draw inferences about how changes in helmet use laws could be expected to impact future fatality rates.

Short Answer 3

Use the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) data from “Motorcycle Helmet Use—State Laws,” and the “The Effects of Michigan’s Weakened Motorcycle Helmet Use Law on Insurance Losses,” provided in the Assessment documents, and other research you find on your own, to review data on states with partial helmet laws.

· Describe at least two impacts on injuries when Michigan weakened its helmet use laws. (1–3 paragraphs)

· Justify the need for helmet use laws to protect motorcyclists and bystanders. In what ways does not wearing a helmet while operating a motorcycle impact the health and safety of other citizens? (1 page)

Your Response

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Rubric

	0Not Present	1Needs Improvement	2Meets Expectations	3Exceeds Expectations
Sub-Competency 2: Explain the impact of policy-making decisions upon public-health practice for improving the health status of populations.
Learning Objective 2.3: Describe the potential impact of laws on public health as they pertain to Michigan’s helmet laws.	Description of the impact of laws on public health is missing.	Response inaccurately describes the impact of Michigan’s helmet use laws on injury and health and safety of others.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response accurately describes the two factors impacting Michigan’s helmet use laws on injury and the health and safety of others.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response describes the benefit to society for decreased death and significant injuries and includes a hypothesis regarding potential reduced long term care.
Learning Objective 2.4:Explain the need for public policy to protect individuals and bystanders from harm.	Explanation of the importance of public policy to protect individuals and bystanders is missing.	Response partially explains need for public policy to protect motorcyclists and bystanders from harm but contains logical fallacies or fails to provide evidence.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response logically explains need for public policy to protect motorcyclists and bystanders from harm.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response explains two factors creating social costs.

Short Answer 4

Describe at least one cost and one benefit of mandatory HIV testing and counseling. Include ways it may or may not increase population health. In addition, describe at least one barrier to HIV testing and HIV counseling, and describe how overcoming these barriers might increase population health. (1–2 pages)

Your Response

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Rubric

0Not Present

1Needs Improvement

2Meets Expectations

3Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 2: Explain the impact of policy-making decisions upon public-health practice for improving the health status of populations.

Learning Objective 2.5:Describe the costs, benefits, and challenges of mandatory health testing and counseling.

Description of the costs and benefits of mandatory HIV testing and HIV counseling is missing.

Response inaccurately, or incompletely, describes the costs related to HIV testing and HIV counseling.Response attempts to enumerate a benefit of HIV testing and counseling but description is inaccurate or incomplete; response attempts to describe how HIV testing and counseling affects public health but response is inaccurate.Response attempts to identify at least one barrier to the utilization of HIV testing but does not describe how it might be overcome.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.

Response accurately describes the costs related to HIV testing and HIV counseling.Response clearly enumerates one benefit of HIV testing and counseling; response describes the problems associated with HIV testing and counseling and describes how HIV testing and counseling affect public health.Response thoroughly describes at least one barrier to the utilization of HIV testing and how it might be overcome.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.

Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response thoroughly describes more than one cost and benefit to HIV testing and counseling.Response identifies both individual- and societal-level impacts of HIV testing and counseling on public health.Response offers more than one barrier to the utilization of HIV testing and potential solutions to overcome these obstacles.

Short Answer 5

Use the example of the tuberculosis outbreak in New York in the 1980s in “Tuberculosis in New York City—Turning the Tide” and “Tuberculosis, Culture, and Coercion” (provided with the Assessment documents) to complete the following:

· Describe two policies that were put into place to protect the public from infection, and what impact these policies had on public health. (1–2 pages)

· Provide a rationale for these kinds of policies to someone who argues that they infringe too much on individual liberties. (1 page)

Your Response

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Rubric

	0Not Present	1Needs Improvement	2Meets Expectations	3Exceeds Expectations
Sub-Competency 3: Analyze the contribution healthcare and public health make to the health status of populations.

Learning Objective 3.1: Describe how policies in public health impact the health of citizens.	Description of tuberculosis control policies is missing.	Response describes only one policy that was put in place to protect the health of citizens from tuberculosis patients, or provides policy descriptions that are unclear or incomplete.Response fails to describe the impact of these tuberculosis interventions on public health.	Response clearly describes two relevant policies that were put in place to protect public health from tuberculosis patients.Response thoroughly describes the impact of the policies on public health.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response clearly describes more than two relevant policies that were in place to protect public health from tuberculosis patients.Response demonstrates understanding of a range of policy interventions that distinguish between individual level interventions and broader measures (e.g., institutional or community level measures)
Learning Objective 3.2: Justify policies designed to protect the public from infection.	Justification for policies designed to protect public health is missing.	Response provides an illogical or unclear justification for policies designed to protect public health.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response provides a logical justification for policies designed to protect public health.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response describes relevant landmark state cases that illustrate balancing the need to protect the public while protecting individual liberty, or proposes how policies might be modified to better protect liberty while still controlling infections.

Short Answer 6

Choose one of the following three issues and research the role advocacy and civic engagement has played in advancing these issues:

• Prevention of smoking cigarettes in public spaces

• Reduction in child obesity rates

• Increased penalties for drunk driving

Describe the role that advocacy and civic engagement played in advancing these policy-making efforts. (1–2 pages)

Your Response

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Rubric

	0Not Present	1Needs Improvement	2Meets Expectations	3Exceeds Expectations
Sub-Competency 4: Describe the role of advocacy and civic engagement in the policy-making process for improving the health status of populations.
Learning Objective 4.1: Describe the role of advocacy and civic engagement in policy-making efforts.	Description of the role of advocacy and civic engagement in policy-making efforts is missing.	Response provides an incomplete or unclear description of the role of advocacy and civic engagement in policy efforts related to the selected issue.Response includes facts from only one side of any issue.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response thoroughly describes the role that advocacy and civic engagement play in policy efforts related to the selected issue.Response includes the facts on both sides of each issue.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.	Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response indicates the magnitude of the impact on public health that these advocacy and engagement efforts have on each issue.

Short Answer 7

Research and provide an example of how neighborhood residents responded to the threat of the closing of the Mercy Health Partner’s trauma-care unit at Huron Hospital in Cleveland. What impact did the residents think the closing of the trauma-care unit would have on the health of their community? What techniques did advocates use, and how successful were they? Describe the compromise that was reached. (3–4 paragraphs)

For background about this, please conduct your own research or refer to the following examples of news coverage:

· “Cleveland Clinic Closing Huron Hospital,” available at: http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/06/cleveland_clinic_closing_huron.html

· “Hospital Closings Jeopardize Care in Poor Urban Communities,” available at: http://americaswire.org/drupal7/?q=content/hospital-closings-jeopardize-care-poor-urban-communities

· “Cleveland Clinic and the City of East Cleveland Reach Agreement Related to Huron Hospital Closing,” available at: http://www.myfoxal.com/story/14997928/cleveland-clinic-and-the-city-of-east-cleveland-reach-agreement-related-to-huron-hospital-closing

Your Response

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Rubric

	0Not Present	1Needs Improvement	2Meets Expectations	3Exceeds Expectations
Sub-Competency 4: Describe the role of advocacy and civic engagement in the policy-making process for improving the health status of populations.

Learning Objective 4.2: Describe advocacy strategies used to improve the health status of populations.

Description of advocacy strategies used to improve the health status of populations is missing.

Response provides a partial or unclear description of the potential impact of the closing of the Huron Hospital Trauma Center on the neighborhood population.Response provides a partial or incomplete description of a strategy used by activists.Response inaccurately describes the compromise reached with Cleveland Clinic.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.

Response describes the potential impact of closing the Huron Hospital Trauma center on the health status of the neighborhood population.Response thoroughly describes at least one specific strategy used by activists in Cleveland.Response accurately describes the compromise reached with Cleveland Clinic.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.

Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response clearly explains the potential impact of the closing of the trauma center on other populations and health facilities in Ohio.Response addresses at least three strategies used by activists.

Short Answer 8

How do special interest groups like the American Medical Association (AMA) seek to affect public policy? Choose one issue (e.g., the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicare reimbursement levels, etc.) as an example, and explain the impact that special interest groups may have had on the issue. (3–4 paragraphs)

Your Response

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Rubric

	0Not Present	1Needs Improvement	2Meets Expectations	3Exceeds Expectations
Sub-Competency 4: Describe the role of advocacy and civic engagement in the policy-making process for improving the health status of populations.

Learning Objective 4.3: Describe how special interest groups affect public policy.

Description of the role of advocacy by special interest groups is missing.

Response provides a partial or incomplete description of how special interest groups affect public policy.Response provides an irrelevant or incomplete example of how special interest groups exert influence on public policy.Response is not supported by references to relevant academic resources.

Response thoroughly describes how special interest groups affect public policy.Response provides one specific example that illustrates how special interest groups affect public policy.Response is supported by references to relevant academic resources.

Response demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:Response describes one cost and benefit of special interest group influence on public policy.

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