In 2013, West Africa saw the beginning of one of the largest and longest lasting Ebola breakouts in history, which lasted for over two years. In 2014, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that heart disease, killing some 614,348 individuals that year, was the leading cause of death in the United
States. These examples show two different types of disease—one infectious, the other chronic—that have become focal points of public health. How do public
health professionals work to solve such issues? The key is a thorough understanding of the etiology, behavior, and transmission of diseases.
The final project for this course is a disease brief, which will require you to select a chronic or infectious disease from the provided list and write a brief analysis
of that disease to inform your health professional peers. You will cover the etiology of the disease, research the incidence and prevalence of the disease, explore
treatment and prevention, and consider how the ecological model impacts this public health issue.
This project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final
submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three and Five. The final product will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Analyze the etiology of infectious or chronic diseases to determine risk factors and modes of transmission
Discern the role of individual, community, and governmental levels of the ecological model in addressing public health issues and in impacting an
individual’s health
Determine incidence and prevalence of disease among affected populations by analyzing public health data and statistics
Distinguish prevention and treatment options for chronic or infectious diseases that can inform strategies meant to improve public health