Public Health in Action

For this week’s DQ, you are asked to choose a public health organization or agency, other than your local public health department. It can be close to your home or accessible by phone, or relate, in some way, to your own professional/personal interest. For example, if one’s interest lies with diabetes education and diabetes prevention, then you might choose the American Diabetes Association (ADA) or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and interview someone in the local chapter for this discussion. 

Here is a suggested list of questions for an interview with someone at a Public Health agency of your choice. These questions are a basic template, and you can ask additional questions to gain more information. Identify yourself as a SUNY Delhi BSN Student and explain that this information is for an assignment in your class, and will be shared with other students in an online learning forum. Ask what their restrictions are for confidentiality and keep to them in the DQ. 

The interview may be conducted in person or over the phone. Confidentiality and professionalism are stressed in this discussion and will be preserved throughout the week. 

1. Using the information collected in your interview with a public health agency, please share the following with your colleagues:

1.  
   • Introduce the agency and its function, supplying an identifying local website if available.
   • Provide a detailed summary of the interview based on the questions in the template and your own (Cite as a personal communication, p. 179 in APA manual).
   • What epidemiological principles are applied in the agency’s mission and operations?
   • What did you learn from this experience from an epidemiological standpoint and what is the agency’s role in community healthcare?
2. Respond to three or more postings on different public health agencies chosen by your peers, addressing such things as:

• How is this agency fulfilling a meaningful function in the community?
• Describe ways this organization can be more focused on the diverse needs of the population it serves.
• What evidence or research supports the role of this organization in public health?

How might multidisciplinary members of the healthcare team use this organization’s services?