The purpose of the MPH/530 Course Capstone Project is to demonstrate the epidemiological skills learned in this course by applying them to understanding and evaluating a specific public health issue. To achieve this, the class will use epidemiological principles and concepts to understand the relationship between a specific public health issue and the associated outcomes. This includes demonstrating the ability to develop, analyze, and evaluate the tools and approaches necessary to complete an epidemiologic study.

You are expected to complete the Course Capstone Project work in weekly segments over the duration of the course. Upon successful completion of MPH/530, you will have attained the necessary core competencies to 1) identify a public health issue, 2) analyze information from peer-reviewed literature, and 3) propose methods to synthesize the issue and the associated outcomes. As a result, students will be able to perform related duties within the field of public health.

Develop a 20-slide (estimated) Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® presentation for your Course Capstone Project that includes:

• Identify the issue and provide a description of the target population, setting, and/or local community (2 slides).
• Discuss the health disparity and/or need for social equity (1–2 slides).
• Discuss the epidemiology of your selected public health issue including risk factors (behavioral, biological, genetic, geographical), rates, etc. (2 slides).
• Create 1 original visual data and provide 1 researched/published visual display from an outside source that illustrates the epidemiological issue. Interpret and discuss the data presented (1–2 slides).
• Propose a plan to address this issue within the identified target population using specific epidemiologic methods including data collection methods and research study design (e.g., cohort study, case-control study, observational cohort, experimental). Justify your selections; why were these appropriate? (2–3 slides)
• Discuss the types of bias that could occur from the study. How will you mitigate or address? (2 slides)
• Note the evaluation methods to determine success of the proposed intervention (e.g., types of program evaluation and framework for evaluation) (1 slide).
• A conclusion that states relevance of presentation, your perspectives on the issue, and next steps (1–2 slides)

Reference slide(s) that include all research cited (2 or 3 slides)