MPH 570 Module 5 Writing a Problem Statement Example

Naming the Problem: Identifying a Health Issue and Writing a Concise Problem Statement

Student Name

Master of Public Health Program, Aspen University

MPH 570: Evidence-Based Practice in Public Health

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Naming the Problem: Identifying a Health Issue and Writing a Concise Problem Statement

Everything in a capstone depends on how well its problem is stated. A vague or overly broad problem leads to unfocused work; a clear, evidence-based statement guides every later step. This paper describes how a student identified a health issue for the internship and capstone, high school e-cigarette use in a composite county, and developed a concise problem statement.

Choosing an Issue

The student considered several possible issues and weighed them on five criteria: burden in the community, availability of local data, existence of evidence-based interventions, interest of a potential internship site and feasibility within the program's time frame. Youth vaping scored well on all five, and the county health department's tobacco program agreed to host the internship. Two other candidate issues, adolescent sleep and teen driving injuries, scored lower on data availability and site interest.

From Topic to Issue

Tobacco use is a topic; high school e-cigarette use in a specific county is an issue. Narrowing involves specifying the population, place, behavior and time. Further narrowing might focus on a factor the internship can address, such as underage sales in retail stores or the lack of cessation support for students who want to quit.

National Context

Nationally, some 2.55 million students in grades 6 through 12 reported current e-cigarette use in 2022, and a clear majority of them used flavored devices (Cooper et al., 2022). National figures establish that the issue matters beyond one county.

Local Evidence

The latest state youth survey found almost one county high schooler in five had used an e-cigarette within the prior month, well above the national figure. Compliance checks found that 22% of retailers sold to underage buyers, and school records showed vaping incidents had doubled in three years. Students in focus groups said they could buy devices easily and did not know where to get help quitting.

Elements of a Strong Problem Statement

A strong problem statement names the population and place, describes the problem with data, explains why it matters, identifies the gap between the current situation and what should be, and points toward what the project will address, all in a few sentences. It avoids proposing a solution in the statement itself.

Sharpening the Statement

The student's drafts improved through feedback.

The Final Statement

In the composite county, the most recent state youth survey found current e-cigarette use at 19% of high school students, higher than the national figure of 14.1%. One in five tobacco retailers sold to underage buyers in compliance checks, and students report little awareness of support for quitting. Current county efforts rely on school assemblies, which are not supported by strong evidence, leaving a gap between practice and evidence-based approaches to reducing youth access and supporting cessation.

Why Evidence Matters for the Statement

Identifying the gap requires knowing what the evidence supports, and evidence-based practice has been defined as joining science-based interventions with community preferences (Kohatsu et al., 2004). Evidence-based public health involves using the best available evidence together with local data and community input to choose approaches (Brownson et al., 2009). The statement's reference to evidence-based approaches signals that the project will compare current practice with what research supports.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders include students, parents, school administrators, retailers, the health department's tobacco program, pediatricians and the county board. Engaging them early helps confirm the problem as they experience it and builds support for later action. A short stakeholder map listing each group's interest and influence will help plan whom to involve and when.

Scope and Feasibility

The project will focus on two factors, underage retail access and cessation support, rather than all causes of youth vaping. This scope fits a single internship and allows measurable objectives. Broader factors, such as online sales and marketing, are acknowledged as limitations. The scope also matches the internship's sixteen-week length and the preceptor's program responsibilities.

Consulting Stakeholders on the Statement

The student shared the draft statement with the preceptor, a school counselor and two students. Their feedback confirmed that retail access and lack of cessation support were real concerns and added that students feared punishment if they asked for help, which shaped the later focus on supportive school policy.

Common Pitfalls

Common problems in problem statements include choosing an issue too broad for the project, proposing a solution in the statement, relying on national data without local evidence and describing the problem without explaining the gap. Reviewing drafts against a checklist helps avoid these problems.

From Statement to Objectives

The problem statement will guide objectives in the base plan. Each element of the gap, retail access and cessation support, becomes a focus for measurable objectives, such as identifying repeat violators and drafting a supportive school policy. A clear statement makes objectives easier to write.

Evidence Base for the Statement

The statement draws on national surveillance for context, local survey and compliance data for the size of the problem and focus groups for students' experiences. Citing each source shows readers that the problem is well documented.

Revisiting the Statement

Problem statements can change as projects develop. The student will revisit the statement after the evidence review and early internship work, revising it if new data or stakeholder input change the understanding of the problem.

Ethical Framing

The statement avoids blaming students. It describes vaping as a result of easy access, heavy marketing and limited support, which is accurate and respectful and supports solutions that help rather than punish.

Conclusion

Identifying a health issue means narrowing a broad topic to a specific, locally documented problem that an internship can address. The student's final statement names the population and place, quantifies the problem with national and local data, explains the gap between current efforts and evidence and sets a workable scope. It will guide the evidence review and base plan that follow.

References

Brownson, R. C., Fielding, J. E., & Maylahn, C. M. (2009). Evidence-based public health: A fundamental concept for public health practice. Annual Review of Public Health, 30, 175-201. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.031308.100134

Cooper, M., Park-Lee, E., Ren, C., Cornelius, M., Jamal, A., & Cullen, K. A. (2022). Notes from the field: E-cigarette use among middle and high school students: United States, 2022. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 71(40), 1283-1285. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7140a3

Kohatsu, N. D., Robinson, J. G., & Torner, J. C. (2004). Evidence-based public health: An evolving concept. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(5), 417-421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2004.07.019