Policy Brief Infectious Disease; Measles in California

. A key emphasis of the Brief should be on prevention rather than treatment. Based on the information provided in the background reading, there should be four distinct sections of information covered in the Brief. The following is the general outline that should adhere to:

I) Problem Definition
Groups should summarize the actual and potential consequences of Measles infection at the individual and population levels. Particular attention should be paid to the geography that each group’s designated health organization is responsible for, including communities that may be at risk for infection and/or unique outcomes. PolicyMap should be utilized for mapping demographic and/or health data to the geographic area in your jurisdiction.

II) Description of Proposed Health Policy(ies)
Once the problem is adequately defined, the Brief should transition to summarizing the existing health policies that are currently implemented in the jurisdiction that may influence the spread of Measles among the constituent population. In this section, each group should propose at least one policy that would prevent and/or decrease the potential of an epidemic of Measles infection, as well as who would be responsible for implementing and enforcing it. The Brief should identify how the recommended policy(ies) target various determinants of this infectious disease in the population. The Brief should also describe what systems and processes need to be in place for monitoring and tracking success of the proposed policy(ies).

III) “Make the Case”
The third section of the Brief should focus on the logic and rationale for execution of the proposed policy(ies). Each group should provide data or other evidence that supports implementation to prevent disease in the designated population, including at-risk subgroups. To the greatest extent possible, the Brief should draw from successful policies in similarly-situated communities and/or existing policies that might be adaptable to characteristics and circumstances found in the constituent population.

IV) Discussion of Intended / Desired Impacts
The expected goals and/or desired impacts of the policy(ies) should be included in the final section. Emphasis should be placed on which outcomes are most important to evaluate and what measurements would be used to determine success. Potential consequences of the policy action(s) should be discussed, along with resource implications. The Brief should end with a restatement of the problem and short summary of how the proposed policy(ies) would enable prevention of Measles infection at both individual and population levels.