NUR 3015 Reducing Mental Health Issues Assignment Report: Policy Brief for Community-Based Interventions in Singapore, Singapore

Summative Assignment (Report) 60% of overall grade

Drawing on the presentations, discussions and tasks on this course, and your broader reading of relevant literature, you should write a 2,000 word policy brief.

Developing a policy brief

A policy brief is a concise summary of a particular issue, the policy options to deal with it, and some recommendations on the best option. It is aimed at government policymakers and others who are interested in formulating or influencing policy (FAO 2011).

Task

Write a 2,000-word policy brief addressed to a senior official of the Ministry of Health, or a senior official from another Ministry, advocating at least TWO policy recommendations that would impact the health of citizens positively. Write this as if you are a nurse working in a community setting or a hospital.

You should write your policy brief on one of the following issues:

1. Reducing the health risks of migrant workers
2. Reducing mental health issues
3. Mitigating health risks of climate change

What should my policy paper look like?

Your policy brief should include the following sections:

• Title that should capture attention and state the main problem to be addressed.
• Executive summary in which you outline the entire brief in one to two paragraphs. (200 words)
• An introduction in which you define the problem and why it is relevant. [LO1] (300 words)
• Methods and results where you explain the methodology used to collect the data and present the research findings, including a discussion of policy options and their likely impact. [LO1,4] (900 words)
• Recommendations where you briefly state two to three original recommendations to address the issue in Singapore. [LO2,3,5] (500 words)
• Conclusions in which you reinforce the key messages. (100 words)
• You are expected to include at least 10 key sources that are relevant to the topic.

Be sure to state clearly who you are aiming this policy brief at.

References

FAO (2011). Chapter 4.1 preparing effective policy briefs. In: Food Security Communications Toolkit. Available at https://www.fsnnetwork.org/sites/default/files/foodsecuritycommstoolkit.pdf

Further Guidance on writing policy briefs

CIPPEC (n.d.) Toolkit 2: How to communicate research for policy influence. Available at http://www.vippal.cippec.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Guia-02-serie-3-ingles.pdf

The word limit is 2000 words +/-10%.  Penalties will be applied if work exceeds this.  Please use the APA referencing system and include a word count and your student number on the front page. Do not put your name on the submission.  Work should be submitted through Turnitin.

Presentation

• Proofread your work carefully.
• Use spell and grammar checking software but do not rely on this entirely. Check that all references in the text appear in the reference list and are fully and accurately recorded.
• Always allow enough time for proof reading and typing.
• Use Arial font 11 or Times New Roman font size 12.
• Pages should be numbered
• The work should be 1.5 spaced.
• References and Appendices (if used) should be on separate sheets of paper at the back of the assignment.