This self-study course examines the intersection of politics and public health as well as the personal liberty and discriminatory consequences that can occur when public health policy is influenced by factors beyond commonly accepted medical opinion and scientific evidence.
Part 1 is a case study of the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak and an intense five weeks of events in the United States that illustrates the roles public fear, the media, and politicians can play in developing public health policy, as well as the extraordinary consequences of their involvement.
Part 2 uses the case study developed in Part 1 to illustrate concepts scholars use to describe the distinction between how health professionals and politicians develop public health policy. Part 2 also explores policy drivers and motivators, the roles risk perception and uncertainty play in the policy development process, and the unintended consequences that can occur when public health policy is designed to placate fear instead of being grounded in science.
