Motivation in Public Health

Create a poster presentation, such as you might see at a professional conference, to address a public health issue.

Any goal has costs. For example, as you are experiencing, pursuing an academic degree requires time, money, and energy. This means there is less time and energy for other activities, such as spending time with family or friends or pursuing other goals and activities. There are usually financial costs for education, unless an employer or full scholarship covers the costs.

For this assessment, you will look from a psychological perspective at the economics of motivation in terms of motivation costs and resources, as well as at the significance of spending motivation resources in human behavior. Some of the suggested resources also cover the substitution effect and motivation toward least effort.

These concepts and analysis can be applied to any goal pursuit, no matter how big or small. Insights in these areas can help you to be more efficient in identifying potential benefits and costs of pursuing specific goals now or in the future. This can contribute to reducing stress around goals. The suggested resources covering this topic of economics may be useful to apply in your assessment.

Overview

For this assessment, you will create a poster presentation, such as you might see at a professional conference, to address a public health issue. At professional conferences, you will see poster presentations at which professionals can share with attendees their research or other ideas. Attendees can read the work on the boards and, if they choose, talk with the creators of the posters. It is a great way to share research, tested theories, tested interventions, and so forth in a short amount of time. Posters in this context are meant to present information in a concise visual way. You will create such a poster about a topic in public health and motivation.

On the poster, you’ll present the problem and an idea for increasing people’s motivation toward constructive behaviors concerning the problem. As part of understanding the problem and supporting a solution for increasing motivation, you’ll support ideas in the presentation with theory and research. Finally, you will discuss how the information you provide can be used to shape policies or procedures on a larger scale.

Chooce one of the poster templates. 

Instructions

Following are some topic ideas. You may choose from this list, or you may have another topic in mind that you would like to cover. If you are not choosing from the list below, contact your instructor for approval on the topic to be sure that it is appropriate for the scope of this assessment.  

Public health issues:

• Addictions and sobriety.
• COVID-19 safe practices.
• Sexual activity safe practices.
• Suicide prevention.
• Managing diabetes.
• Healthy eating.
• Chronic pain and prescription medication abuse.

Once you have selected your topic, complete the following:

• Create a poster presentation that explains the problem.
• Propose a solution to the problem (which you will base in theory and research).
• Apply motivational theory and concepts to support a plan that can increase motivation in taking positive actions toward change.
• Present research that supports your plan, explaining the evidence that suggests this plan would increase positive motivation and actions.
• Explain how your plan can help shape public thinking or policy on this issue. Be sure to reference your theories, concepts, and research in your explanation.

Submission Requirements

• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting.
• Resources: Minimum of four resources. At least two resources must be scholarly research. The other two resources can be professional or scholarly.
• Length: The poster can have 3–4 panels.
• Font: Use an easy-to-read font, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Avoid use of script or fancy fonts, such as Comic Sans.