Worth: 20% Due: 11:59pm (WST) 06/04/2019 Length: A maximum of 5 pages or 2500 words (+/-10%) This…

Worth: 20%
Due: 11:59pm (WST) 06/04/2019
Length: A maximum of 5 pages or 2500 words (+/-10%)

This assignment requires you to act as a policy advisor to the Minister of Health in a country of your choice. You are required to choose a country which does not have Health in All Policies or Sugar Tax Policy.

Your role as a policy advisor is to advise the Minister in (1) setting the national agenda in your country for Health in All Health Policies approach to address social determinants of health or Sugar Tax Policy as one of one of the policy actions to address obesity.

To provide advice you must analyse the (1) South Australian OR (2) Mexican policy experience using the specified theoretical lens AND you must have some familiarity with ‘your’ country’s features of context relevant to the policy of focus.

You will prepare a 5-paged policy briefing note for your Minister that a) presents an analysis of the experience chosen, through the lens of the specified framework; and b) draws out five key lessons for your Minister, justifying each of them in terms of their relevance to ‘your’ country given its current situation/context.

The task for the assignment

You are a Policy advisor to the Minister of Health and you just came back from a one week WHO regional health meeting on health promotion where non-communicable diseases and social determinants of health dominated the meeting’s deliberations. In the final address to the participants, the Chairman of the organising committee called upon the governments to operationalise the international frameworks that guide governments in their efforts to address social determinants of health and non-communicable diseases i.e. adopting the health in all policy approach and implementing tax policies on sugary drinks. Develop a policy brief addressed to the Minister of Health and the parliamentary health committee on how the government can take the lessons from the workshop forward.

Choose ONE of the following policy country case studies which were presented as background papers at the regional meeting which you just attended: 1) South Australian case study of the Health in all policies approach or 2) the Mexican experience of sugar tax policy. NOTE: When choosing the case study to analyse, select the one which has not been implemented in your country or state. Thus, do not choose countries where Health in All policies approach and sugar tax policies have already been adopted. If the country of your choice has already implemented both policy scenarios (Health in All Policies and Sugar Tax), contact the Unit Coordinator for an alternative case study option.

Drawing on your knowledge of the context of the country you have chosen for this assignment, argue why the government of the country which you have selected for this assessment should adopt ‘Health in All Policy Approach’ or Sugar Tax Policy.

Using a Shiffman’s agenda setting theory, analyse the factors that influenced the adoption of “Health in All Policies approach to address social determinants of health in South Australia,” or “sugar tax policy as one of the actions to address obesity in Mexico.” Use Kingdon’s and/ or Hall’s agenda setting theories to strengthen your analysis.

Advice the Minister of Health on the five key lessons which your country can draw from your analysis in point ‘d’.

Discuss the precautions that the government should consider in order to ensure a successful adoption of either the Health in All Policies approach or Sugar Tax Policy

Provide a reflection on how the assignment deepened your understanding of how to influence government decisions to take action on specific health issues

Suggesed outline

A brief description of the health profile of your country and its health priorities in relation to either social determinants of health or obesity. For example briefly discuss something how the government is addressing these policy issues and identify a policy gap.

A justification of why your country should adopt Health in All Policy approach for addressing social determinants of health or Sugar Tax policy as one of the policy actions to address obesity

An analysis of the South Australian OR Mexican experience presented through the lens of the specified theoretical framework (i.e. you must explicitly use key aspects of the theory in examining the experience). That means, the themes (subtitles) of your discussion should in line be with the key concepts of Shiffman’s theory of agenda setting and strengthen your analysis with other agenda setting theories as needed.

Issues in the framework that you judge are more difficult to see or understand in the experience, given the information available to you (this helps the Minister to understand what might not be covered in your advice). For example, the cost of implementing the new policy.

Five key lessons for the Minister – justifying each in terms of of their significance in the experience being analysed AND the key, relevant features of the population’s health status as well as policy context in ‘your’ country.

Outline three main pre-cautions that the minister should consider in adopting your policy idea.

A reflection on how you feel you have deepened your learning about policy change through this assignment. Include at least two references from your contributions on the discussion board and at least two journal entries as appendices.

Materials for the assignment

We have selected a core reading for each of these experiences, and in addition, a specific theoretical framework for you to apply when analysing the experience, These materials are available on Black Board.

a) Your core readings for this assignment are; depending on your choice of the policy focus, read one of the two case studies below depending on the topic of your choice;

The South Australian Health in All Policy case study: 17061.3+HiAP+Who+Case+Study+Book-ONLINE.pdf

Read pages 26-40 only

The Mexican Sugar Tax policy case study: Mexico Sugar tax case study.pdf

Read pages 31-47 only

b) For your assigned theoretical framework, Read : Shiffman, J., & Smith, S. (2007). Generation of political priority for global health initiatives: a framework and case study of maternal mortality. The Lancet, 370(9595), 1370-1379. JShiffman-globalsmarticle-Lancet.pdf

For other (Kingdon’s and Hall’s) agenda setting theories, read Buse et al (2012) Making Health Policy (2 nd Ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press. Chapter 4: Agenda setting. You can access the Online version of this textbook through Reading List in the Unit Blackboard

Submission guidance:

Your analysis will be presented as a maximum 5-page Word Document ONLY

Use Times New Roman font size 12 .

Submit a copy of the final version of your assignment with the file name: your First and Last_ass1 2018

Include an initial cover page and sign the plagiarism declaration

You DO NOT need to reference the core paper examined when presenting basic details of the experience, or the authors of the relevant theoretical framework when it is used in broad terms.

You DO need to reference the authors of the core readings for this assignment and authors of the theoretical frameworks if you use their judgements or quotes. You will also need to reference all authors of any other materials you will use in addition additional to the core reading. In total use a maximum of five (5) references including the resources provided for completing this assignment.

Deadline and marking scheme

Submit one copy of the assignment through Turnitin by 23:59 Perth Time on Monday, 9 th April 2018.

Avoid plagiarism – and confirm that your briefing note has not been plagiarised when you submit it.

This assignment will be marked out of 100% but is weighted 20% of your total course mark. See marking scheme for the breakdown of marks.

A pass mark (50%) will require you to demonstrate some understanding of both the experience of focus and the theoretical frameworks you are applying in its examination; including appropriate use of evidence from the experience to support the judgements you make about it and the lessons you draw from it.

A distinction mark (75%) will require fuller understanding of both the experience and theoretical framework, excellent use of evidence to support your judgements as well as clear demonstration of your own thinking, and comprehensive consideration of the assignment guidance.

Marking guide

Performance indicators

Maximum mark

CONTENT

Demonstrates understanding of the experience of focus

10

Appropriately applies the theoretical framework to analyse the assigned case study analysis and demonstrates knowledge of the weakness of the assigned framework by supporting it with other agenda setting theories

30

Highlights five key lessons appropriately considering the policy issues and policy context for the country where advise is being given.

20

ARGUMENTATION

The logic flow of ideas and analysis

15

Presents relevant evidence to back up judgements presented

10

Offers reflective insights on personal learning and provides evidence to support the reflective insights through the assignment writing process i.e. a reference to at least two contributions on the discussion board and 2 journal entries.

10

ACADEMIC LITERACY

Follows assignment guidance in terms of length, format, citation, referencing and plagiarism statement as well as spelling and grammar.

5

Sample of a good assignment;

This assignment only serves as sample for you to have an idea of how a good assignment for this task would look like.

Sample 200218(1).docx

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CASE STUDY DOCUMENTS ARE BIG. WE HAVE CHOSEN TO USE THE PROPER CASE STUDIES OVER JOURNAL ARTICLES BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE DETAILED AND MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS OF THE POLICIES BEING EXAMINED SO THAT YOU DO NOT NEED TOLOOK FOR ANY OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION TO UNDETSTAND THE POLICY EXPERINCE SELECTED. THAT MEANS ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED FOR COMPLETING THIS ASSIGNMENT (UNDERSTANDING THE CASE SCENARIO AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS TO BE USED IN YOUR ANALYSIS) HAS BEEN PROVIDED FOR YOU, THE ONLY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION YOU WILL NEED IS THE CONTEXT OF THE COUNTRY FOR WHICH YOU ARE DEVELOPING THE POLICY BRIEF. IF YOU HAVE PARTICULAR CONCERNS AS FAR AS INFORMATION FOR COMPLETING THIS TASK IS CONCERNED, DO NOT HESISTATE TO CONTACT THE UNIT COORDINATOR.