Sample PBHL20010 Case study Assignment

PBHL20010 Case study Assignment Sample

The first assessment task is a case study of about 2000 words that you will complete on an individual basis.

The case study will require you to choose one of the eight stakeholder groups listed below and discuss their role in a public health emergency; the nature and direction of their interest based on their position in the community and their function in society; and the factors that may affect their actions. You must also choose a specific emergency situation from which you will draw examples to illustrate your discussion. This may be an epidemic of disease (for example, the COVID19 pandemic); a natural disaster (flood, bushfire, earthquake, etc); or an anthropogenic event (chemical spill, industrial explosion, etc). You ust specific the emergency and stakeholder groups clearly in the introduction to the case study. You will also need to use appropriate academic references to support your understanding of stakeholder participation, communication needs, responsibilities, and so forth as relevant.

The stakeholders you may choose from are:

1. Local government

2. Science/health experts

3. Local business interests

4. The media

5. Representatives of the long-term community (people who have lived in a given location for 10 years or more)

6. Representatives of new groups (people who have recently arrived in or moved to a given location)

7. Local health care personnel

8. State (or higher level) government

Your case study must have the following sections for assignment help

1) Introduction – identifies the chosen stakeholder, the emergency and gives a general indication of who they are or what they do;

2) Roles in a Public health Event – for the stakeholder group you have chosen, describe their role in a public health emergency; make sure to consider whether their role is official or non-official and whether they are personally at risk of health impacts and the other kinds of risk they experience;

3) Risks and Responsibilities – for the group you have chosen, describe the nature of the risks identified in the previous section; make sure to consider whether the risk is direct or indirect, whether it is a risk to health or another kind of risk, what the specific health or non-health risk involves, and what the group’s responsibilities are in relation to the public health emergency and its own and the risks of other stakeholders;

4) Role in Public health Decision-Making – for the group you have chosen, consider how they contribute to decision-making in the context of a public health emergency; be sure to discuss whether their contribution is official or unofficial, the channel through which they might affect the decision-making process. and the degree to which their impact is informed by evidence-based and non-evidence-based knowledge; and
5) Conclusion – discuss the position of the stakeholder group you have chosen in a public health emergency; you may want to consider whether they are actors or bystanders, for example, or use some other classification, but be sure to state whether your chosen stakeholder group is likely to be affected significantly, the nature of the impact, and why you believe this would occur. This assignment must be written in a formal, academic style (not first person) and must be fully referenced. Harvard referencing is preferred for this unit. If you need help with referencing, please consult the referencing guides available online and through the Library as soon as possible.

Solution

Introduction

In this paper, a discussion regarding the role of a particular stakeholder group in regard to a public health emergency is going to be elaborated. The stakeholder group that has been chosen in order to make the discussion is the media, and the public health emergency that has been considered in this regard is Covid19. It can be regarded as the most considerable public health emergency in the current situation. The emergency has caused a significant number of deaths throughout the world, and it has caused harm to public health considerably. Along with providing a significant effect on public health, it has caused economic shock to a number of countries. However, the matter is that the media was supposed to play a vital role in regard to the process of making people aware of the emergency and the situational needs, and by considering this key area, the overall discussion is going to be elaborated on here.

Roles in a public health event

Roles

Covid19 is a global infectious disease that emerged from Wuhan, Chin (Anwar et al., 2020). The media can be regarded as the main mean of mass communication that includes radio, television, the internet, newspapers and others. People who are associated with media are mainly responsible to make people aware of the current situation based on every aspect related to society, politics, economic factor, technical area, environmental hazards, health situations, and others. It means that in regard to such a situation where a pandemic has been spreading in an effective manner and causing numerous deaths and affecting uncountable number of people, they were supposed to play an important role in making people aware of the situation. In this regard, their roles have been as follows:

Making people aware of the situation

It can be regarded as the key role of the chosen stakeholder group with respect to the concerned emergency situation. They have been supposed to make people aware of every day’s update, such as the death rates related to Covid19, the way the infection has been spreading each day, what is the current situation of the local area and the world as well. They have been supposed to make people understand the severity of the issue by letting them know about these factors. At the time when people become aware of the severity of a situation, they are able to make the right decision based on the situational needs, and that is why the media has been responsible to make them aware of the situational needs so that they can manipulate their lifestyle and become interested in living a restricted life by considering the emergency of the situation.

Providing authentic information regarding the emergency of the situation

The media, in regard to the situation of a healthcare emergency is responsible to provide authentic information to people so that they can understand the actual scenario and make decision properly based on it. By considering the viewpoint of Mheidlyand Fares (2020), it can be stated that media is a powerful avenue for the dissemination of wellness education. In regard to Covid19, the media was responsible to do the same, From death rates to infection spreading rates, everything are required to be communicated with people while maintaining the highest level of authenticity so that they can understand what they should do in a particular situation in order to be safe. In this case, the media is not likely to be influenced by any political influences. They have been responsible to maintain authenticity with respect to each word they have been sharing with people as the situation has been complex and crucial. Any misleading word of the media might lead people improperly and it would enhance the severity of the issue.

Leading people to the right path in crucial moments

People have been panicked in the situation with the increasing number of deaths and infection rates. At that time period, it has been the responsibility of the media to understand how they should live their lives in order to keep themselves and their family members safe. Instead of making people scared, they have been supposed to encourage them to maintain all safety and precautionary measures so that the situation can be controlled properly.

Whether the role is official or non-official

The roles of the media that have been highlighted in the above-stated passages are definitely official. At the time of public crisis, media is required to ensure to communicate crisis information effectively (Latifet al., 2020). By considering the official responsibilities of media, it can be stated that they are professionally responsible to gather and update information regarding any situation, and correct information throughout the life of a news story. They are also professionally responsible to provide facts that can allow people to be better informed about any issue that matters to the society and the lives of people. It means that covering the Covid-19-based issues can be regarded as the key responsibility of these people and it can also been stated that by considering the official terms and conditions, that these people have to follow, it has been their official responsibility to make people aware of the situational needs, the emergency of the situation, and the way to control the situation. They have been supposed to work by considering that if they can make people aware of these facts and if they can reach people properly, controlling the situation would be easier and battling with the health emergency would also be easier. Hence, it can be concluded that all of the responsibilities highlighted above can be regarded as the official responsibility of these people and they have been supposed to handle these responsibilities by considering the professional ethics of them.

Their personal risk

In this situation, they have some personal risks, and these are mainly about their health. Throughout 2020- 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the spreading rates of Covid-19 were considerable.

Figure 1: Covid19 spreading rates
(Source: Statista, 2022)

The graph is showing the same. In such a situation working with public was a considerable risk for the media as they could be affected anytime as they did not have any scope to isolate themselves from people who were affected. It can be regarded as a major health concern that these people have faced in this situation. In the following section, a detailed discussion regarding the risks is going to be elaborated on.

Risks and responsibilities

Nature of the risk

In the above-stated passages, the risk has been identified, and when the matter comes to making a discussion regarding the nature of the risk it has to be stated that the risk was supposed to impact the stakeholders directly, and it can also be stated that the risk was mainly related to the health of these people and the family members of them. Covid19 is a significant global and public health crisis (Banerjee and Rao, 2020). These stakeholders were supposed to meet with public by considering their professional roles and responsibilities, and that is why they were supposed to be infected in the fastest manner. In this regard, it is also important to state that they have not been free from the risk yet as Covid-19 is still causing harms and death though the infection rates have been decreased, and it means that these people are still dealing with such risks.

Another important risk to be considered here is about their economic and professional security. By considering the information shared by Radcliffe(2020), it can be stated that a number of people have lost their jobs in the Covid19 phase as a number of news companies have been laid off in the Covid19 phase. This situation has actually affected their professional and economic security of these people. It can be regarded as a direct risk to be considered here as it has directly impacted the overall lifestyles of these people in a devastating manner.

Responsibilities of the group in public health emergency

From professional aspect, they are responsible to collect information regarding the current status of Covid19 and it has been the responsibility of them to provide people with accurate information so that they can understand the situational needs and they can take steps based on the same. It has been their responsibility to make people aware of the precautionary measures so that they can deal with the situation perfectly. They have been supposed to provide information not only regarding the impact of the issue on public health but also the impact of the issue on political and economic aspects. In order to avoid risk of Covid-19, effective government interventions have been implemented, and it has been the responsibility of media people to make individuals know about these (Liu et al., 2021). They have been responsible to ensure that people understand the situational needs properly and make decisions based on it.

The risks of other stakeholders

In this regard, other stakeholders were also supposed to face some issues. Along with journalists, press and camera man, some other people work with media people and that includes the drivers of the vehicle that these people are using, their assistants, and others, and these people are supposed to be infected if these people get infected. It means that with the risk of the chosen stakeholders, the risks of other stakeholders are interrelated.

Role in public decision making process

How they contribute to decision making

Bridgmanet al.,(2020) have stated that if people spend time in media that provide misinformation, they are likely to develop wrong attitudes and behaviors. These people are responsible to provide a significant impact on public decision making process. They have been responsible to make people aware of Covid-19 situation that can influence the decision-making process of them. They have been responsible to make people understand the precautionary measures instead of causing them to get panicked. They have been responsible to maintain the highest level of integrity and honesty in regard to the data collection and communication process so that any individual would not be misled and they van make the best decision by considering the actual situational perspectives.

Whether the contribution is official or unofficial

By considering professional aspect, it can be stated that media people are supposed to make people aware of a situation and his kind of awareness can influence the decision-making process of individuals in a considerable manner. From this perspective, it can be stated that the contribution of them that has been highlighted in the above-stated passages is completely official.

The channel through which they can affect the decision-making process

Media people can be associated with any channel that includes newspapers, television, internet and others. From this perspective, it can be stated that all of these channels can be used in order to affect the decision-making process of people. In other words, it can be stated that media people are sharing information by using all of these channels and this information is effective enough to influence the decision-0making process of people, and that is why it can be stated that newspaper, television, radio, and the internet are some channels through which media people can influence the decision-making process of people.

The degree with respect to their impact in this regard

In the above-stated passages, a discussion regarding the way they can influence the decision-making process of people has been elaborated, and by considering the same, it can be stated that the degree to which they can impact the decision-making process is high as they are the primary resource of information for mass people. By considering their viewpoint, mass people have been judging the Covid-19 situation and the way they have to deal; with it. Hence, the degree with respect to their impact in regard to the decision-making process is high.

Conclusion

In the above-stated passage, a detailed discussion regarding the impact of the media on a health emergency (Covid-19) has been elaborated. By considering the discussion, it can be stated that these people have been playing a vital role in the context while providing people with authentic information and making them aware of the situation. They have been contributing to the decision-making process of people in an effective manner as per their professional responsibilities while dealing with considerable risks. By considering the way the stakeholders are playing the role of actors with respect to the situation. Based on the actions of them, the way people can think and manage the issue is being changed, and it means that they are playing the role of actors in this regard. The situation can impacted their lives effectively as it has already been stated that they have been dealing with considerable health risks. Apart from that, they were dealing with job security-layered issues. Health risks can impacted their action with respect to the situational needs and it could prevent them from following their roles and responsibilities. On the other hand, job security issues associated with the situation could affect them physical and mental well-being. The situation-related discussion has been made, and based on the situational perspective, it has been possible to understand that such issues could occur.

References

Anwar, A., Malik, M., Raees, V. and Anwar, A., 2020.Role of mass media and public health communications in the COVID-19 pandemic. Cureus, 12(9).https://www.cureus.com/articles/38293-role-of-mass-media-and-public-health-communications-in-the-covid-19-pandemic

Banerjee, D. and Rao, T.S., 2020. Psychology of misinformation and the media: Insights from the COVID-19 pandemic. Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry, 36(5), p.131.

Bridgman, A., Merkley, E., Loewen, P.J., Owen, T., Ruths, D., Teichmann, L. and Zhilin, O., 2020. The causes and consequences of COVID-19 misperceptions: Understanding the role of news and social media. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, 1(3).https://www.indjsp.org/article.asp?issn=0971-9962;year=2020;volume=36;issue=5;spage=131;epage=137;aulast=Banerjee

Latif, F., Bashir, M.F., Komal, B. and Tan, D., 2020.Role of electronic media in mitigating the psychological impacts of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Psychiatry research, 289, p.113041.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178120309380

Liu, N., Chen, Z. and Bao, G., 2021. Role of media coverage in mitigating COVID-19 transmission: Evidence from China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 163, p.120435.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162520312610

Mheidly, N. and Fares, J., 2020.Leveraging media and health communication strategies to overcome the COVID-19 infodemic. Journal of public health policy, 41(4), pp.410-420.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41271-020-00247-w

Radcliffe, D., 2020. Covid-19 has ravaged American newsrooms–here’s why that matters. Available at SSRN 3693903.https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3693903

Statista, 2022. COVID-19 new cases worldwide by day | Statista. [online] Statista. Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/1103046/new-coronavirus-covid19-cases-number-worldwide-by-day/> [Accessed 18 April 2022].