Week 3 – Assignment 2
Significant Contributions to Public Health Final

Assignment Part

[WLOs: 3] [CLO: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review these resources:
 Chapter 6 and Appendix II: Historical Figures in the textbook
 Intro to Epidemiology Study Types (Links to an external site.) video
 Introduction to Epidemiology and Public Health (Links to an external site.) video
 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Links to an external site.) website
 World Health Organization (Links to an external site.) website
Go to Week 5 and read the Significant Contributions to Public Health Final Assignment
Part 2 details. Review the grading rubric in Week 3 and Week 5 to understand the full
grading criteria. Because of the size of this project, you will be doing the first part of the
Final Assignment this week, and then integrating your work and instructor’s feedback
with the Final Assignment in Week 5.
For this assignment, you will be researching a historical figure in the public health world,
their contribution to public health, and how their work helped shape the public health
system that serves the community. Furthermore, you will be analyzing how their
contribution from the past continues to contribute to today’s public health system, and
how it might guide future work within the industry. You have the option of writing a paper
or putting together a presentation.
Complete the following steps:
 Step 1: To begin, select one of these historical figures. They are linked
throughout the textbook to help get you started on your project. Choose one of
the following:
o John Snow
o Margaret Sanger
o Jonas Salk
o Larry Kramer
o Edward Jenner
o Rachel Carson
o Sara Josephine Baker

o William Phelps Eno
o Sir Edwin Chadwick
o Luther Terry
o John Graunt
o Dick Cheney
o Everett Koop
o W.E.B. DuBois
o Charles Edward Winslow
o Franklin D. Roosevelt
o Clara Barton
o Florence Nightingale
o Thomas Francis
o Albert Calmette
o Camille Guerin
o Ignaz Semmelweiss
o An individual of your own choice: you must obtain instructor approval in
advance for this option.

Use the outline below to organize your paper or presentation. Do not type the “Steps”
into your paper or presentation. Rather, formulate a well thought out analysis with
logical transitions as you would a professional paper or presentation. The grading rubric
will be your guide for all the points you need to address in your final submission.
Research and critical thinking is a large component of this project. You will curate
resources to support your statements using proper APA Style (Links to an external
site.).
 Step 2: Describe your selected person’s biographical background (i.e.,
experience).
o TIP: Research the individual’s background. This can include resume elements
such as birthdate, location, education, and brief statement of their contribution
to public health. (Reminder: biographical information can be easily
plagiarized. Please do not copy from your biographical websites. Paraphrase
or quote and cite everything according to APA.)
 Step 3: Analyze the climate of the time period in terms of political,
socioeconomic, environmental, and technological context in which this person
worked.
o TIP: Research the barriers and issue of the time. Think about whether this
person was up against resistance or if the work this person did was
welcomed. (For example, if you were writing on Abraham Lincoln and the

abolition of slavery, you would note that slavery was prevalent and accepted
at the time, and the change was welcomed by some and rejected by others.)
 Step 4: Examine the personal beliefs of your person that prompted this work.
o TIP: You are basically addressing the question: “Why did this person get
involved with the issue at the time?” (In continuing the Lincoln example above,
you would note that black people were considered property, not people; yet
Lincoln believed everyone had equal rights regardless of skin color.)
 Step 5: Examine how this individual overcame or confronted any adversities.
o TIP: Think about how this person overcame the barriers and issues.
Questions to consider: What did the person specifically do? Did they have any
allies? How did their actions succeed or fail?
 Step 6: Describe the final outcome of this individual’s contribution to community
or public health.
o TIP: Think about the importance of the contribution to community or public
health at the time. Think about this question: What occurred as a result of this
person’s action?
 Step 7: Explain what the individual’s contribution did for overall community or
public health at the time.
o TIP: Think about this question: What was the purpose for the community or
nation? (In the Lincoln example, the explanation would involve a national
recognition of human rights of all people, regardless of skin color.)
 Step 8: Explain why this contribution was so important at that particular point in
history.
o TIP: Think about this question: What made this important for our nation? (In
the Lincoln example, you would answer the question: Why was it so important
that Lincoln freed the slaves?)

You have a choice of which format you wish to present your findings. You can choose
either a written paper or a presentation format. Follow the instructions below for the
option you choose.

Option 1: Written Paper Format
The Significant Contributions to Public Health Final Assignment Part 1 paper

 Must be four double-spaced pages in length, not including title and references
pages, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing
Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)
 Must include a separate title page with the following:
o Title of paper
o Student’s name
o Course name and number
o Instructor’s name
o Date submitted
For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA
Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
 Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.)
resource for additional guidance.
 Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction
paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose
of your paper.
o For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external
site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to
the Ashford Writing Center resources.
 Must use at least four scholarly, peer-reviewed, or credible sources (one of those
may be the course text).
o The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an
external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types.
The Ashford University Library is a great place to find resources. Watch the
Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial for
research tips. If you have questions about whether a specific source is
appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor
has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a
particular assignment.
 Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the
Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
 Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style
as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References
List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for
specifications.