Overview
Respond to the following post:
#3 As the culminating project to the MPH program, the capstone project should be an in-depth and effective review, research, or proposal of a public health topic that aligns with the students' interests. Additionally, I believe that the capstone project should benefit resources, populations, and others beyond the scope of ODU and into the areas where we will spend our professional career. Therefore, the project should utilize the best information and procedures that accurately and positively benefit the target population. Through evidence-based public health, new advancements to programs, information, and techniques can be made. Ideally collected through randomized controlled trials (the gold standard for experimental designs), evidence-based approaches allow for an increase in high-quality information, better prevention programs, and more efficient practices (Lhachimi et al., 2016). By using the newest information within our capstone projects, we can effectively promote the use of new, productive, and efficient information to our target population on the areas of interest.
I have a particular interest in health physics, radiation safety, and radiation health. As a worker within the hospital system -- more specifically the radiology department -- I continue to see patients receiving studies that may not further advance their diagnostic position and only increase the amount of received radiation -- not to mention the added healthcare expense this might cost. By using evidence-based research on the average amount of radiation received for studies that are typically over-ordered or unnecessarily ordered, I could develop a guide to show how attending physicians the cost-benefit analysis of particular studies that use radiation and offer other modalities that may not be as harmful.