Remember, the “policy problem” is NOT obesity, so please do not frame your issue

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Remember, the “policy problem” is NOT obesity, so please do not frame your issue as responses to our nation’s obesity problem. Your focus must be on potential problems or issues with the proposed BMI screening policy as outlined in the policy scenario.
Please note that the policy at issue is the proposed BMI screening policy. While BMI screening might be an upstream approach to addressing obesity over the longer term, this assignment should not be interpreted to mean that the policy “problem” is obesity in general. This assignment is requesting that you consider issues, concerns, benefits, and risks with the proposed BMI policy itself from your particular professional perspective. When you are invited to speak at any of the public forms (local, state, federal) on this proposed policy, what is it that you might want the policymakers to know and consider in their decision? For instance, if you are a public health professional, you might be particularly concerned about how this screening policy impacts sub-populations such as low-income communities or racially and culturally diverse communities. If you are a social worker, you might focus on a contemporaneous risk assessment for peer experiences of bullying and victimization.
Initial Post:
Use the information in the scenario and supporting external sources to write +/- 500 words defining the policy problem from the perspective of your own discipline. Keep in mind that your problem must be defined in ways that the use of public resources is authorized, makes sense, and is likely to be effective (see Bardach p. 2). Be sure to:
Articulate the problem concisely and clearly
Frame the problem as one for which a public policy solution is warranted, appropriate, and likely to be effective
Avoid vagueness, generalities, rhetoric, and cliché
Provide preliminary information about what evidence will likely be available to support your definition and interpretation of the problem
Submit your policy problem statement in the Discussion Forum
Overview
As you have learned from reading Stone, the way in which you define, or “frame” your social issue is likely to impact whether the issue resonates with your audience. This week you will have an opportunity to define the way you envision the problem that needs policy attention and receive feedback from your groupmates about whether the problem is concisely articulated and whether it feels sufficiently compelling and consequential to warrant policy attention.
After reviewing the required reading, consider different ways of defining the problem raised in the scenario from the perspective of your own discipline. There are likely to be several ways in which the problem can be framed, so you will have to decide on one, or a couple of related issues. Be prepared to listen to, consider, and possibly incorporate some of the comments from your peers from other disciplines.
Remember, the “policy problem” is NOT obesity, so please do not frame your issue as responses to our nation’s obesity problem. Your focus must be on potential problems or issues with the proposed BMI screening policy as outlined in the policy scenario.
Weekly Outcomes
Describe the policy problem from your own profession’s perspective
Clearly articulate a specific policy problem in writing
Discuss the different policy problem perspectives of your own and other professions
Resources
Readings
Text (Stone) – Chapter 8 Numbers
Text (Stone) – Chapter 9 Causes
Text (Stone) – Chapter 10 Interests
Text (Bardach) – pages 1-12 and 113-124
Mandinach, E. (2015) Ethical and Appropriate Data Use Requires Data Literacy
Solomon, M. et al (2016) The Ethical Imperative And Moral Challenges Of Engaging Patients And The Public With Evidence
The 12 Cognitive Biases that Keep You from Being Rational
Additional Suggested Reading:
Thaler, R. H., Sunstein, C. R., & Balz, J. P. (2014). Choice architecture.
Phillips, M. M., Ryan, K., & Raczynski, J. M. (2011). Peer Reviewed: Public Policy Versus Individual Rights in Childhood Obesity Interventions: Perspectives From the Arkansas Experience With Act 1220 of 2003. Preventing chronic disease, 8(5).
Ryan, K. W. (2009). Surveillance, Screening, and Reporting Children’s BMI in a School-Based Setting: A Legal Perspective. Pediatrics, 124(Supplement 1), S83-S88.
Lectures
Video transcriipts are available here.
Door #1 or Door #2? HIPAA or FERPA? (5:00) – Nan Solomons, PhD
Cognitive biases (10:56) – Leslie Hitch, EdD, MBA (Note: This video contains a few occasional loud static noises. Especially if you are listening with headphones, you may want to keep the volume low.)

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