• GUIDELINE
• Topic-Tobacco statergy policy 2019-2023 (pdf provided)
• Due date- 2nd oct
• Eassy
• Critical analysis essay must be typed. Typing must be in the required format: Arial or Times New Roman o Font size: 12pt. o Answers must be Double Spaced with 3 cm left and right margins The critical analysis essay is a formal essay with an introduction, body, conclusion and reference list
• Critical analysis essay
• Students are to choose a health or aged care policy that illustrates the practical application of the policy development process and discuss the importance of the policy to the health outcomes of the policy target group.
• Discussion and analysis of the chosen policy should include reference to at least two of the following key,
• policy-related topic areas: - The relationships that exist between politics and power in the construction of health and aged care policy; - The ethical and legal dilemmas and constraints involved in formulating and enacting health and aged care policies; - The impact that social, health and aged care policies have on disadvantaged groups in society. - Additionally – The Australian Policy Cycle should be used to frame the analysis – Discussion and analysis must be underpinned by strong evidence from the literature. – There must be in-text referencing throughout the essay and a reference list on a separate page at the end of the essay – All authors cited in-text should have a corresponding citation in the reference list. Only authors cited in text must have a corresponding citation in the reference list. – No dot point, lists or diagrams are to be included 9 Resources: Links to a range of policy documents will be available via the unit vUWS site as well as additional assessment 2 related readings Critical analysis essay PowerPoint Presentation outlining how best to prepare for and write assessment 2.
How to write introduction (basic guideline)
Introduction (15 marks/ approximately 900 words)
PARAGRAPH 1. The ‘name of policy’ (ref) was developed by ‘NSW Health’ as part of ‘the Australian strategy/efforts to reduce/control issue x’ (ref). This policy was developed specifically to do…..x, y z. ‘Issue is a problem to health because…..’(ref). The policy specifically targets ‘target group(s)’ because…..(ref)
PAR 2. This policy was seen as necessary because……’provide a couple of reasons why’ (refer to aims/targets)
o Australia’s road toll was still considered too high,
o To drive infection rates to a goal of zero
o To build further on the work of previous policies
PAR 3. The policy was developed by ‘agency X in consultation with x, y, z’ as a collaboration between x and y. ‘Issue’ first came to be a policy concern/onto the policy agenda in ‘year x’ because of Y. An analysis of the policy document shows that the policy cycle has been used in developing this policy (and previous policies), specifically with stages X, Y and Z in evidence in the policy document. REFER TO THE STAGES briefly. ALSO, IF THE LATEST POLICY IN A SERIES, MENTION THIS
PAR 4. This paper critically analyses the ‘Name of policy’. Specifically, the analysis will assess:
INDICATE WHICH TWO OF THE THREE KEY TOPIC AREAS OR FRAMEWORKS YOU ARE GOING TO DISCUSS IN THE ESSAY, AND VERY BRIEFLY WHY
? the relationships between politics and power in the construction of health and aged care policy;
? the ethical and legal dilemmas and constraints involved in formulating and enacting health and aged care policies;
? the impact that social, health and aged care policies have on disadvantaged groups in society;
(Approximately 100 words)
PAR 5. PROVIDE A THESIS STATEMENT: A thesis statement focuses your ideas into one sentence. It should present the topic of your essay and also make a comment about your position in relation to the topic. Your thesis statement should tell your reader what the paper is about and also help guide your writing and keep your argument focused.
I argue/this analysis will show that the policy is ….
‘An example of rational policy making with clear evidence of the policy cycle being used in its development, but with little in the way of specific strategies to assist disadvantaged groups.’
‘Has involved a high level of consultation with target groups and their representatives, but the strategies are currently unfunded and it would be very hard to implement in practice without large amounts of additional funding.’
‘Appears to have been developed with little reference to the policy cycle, but rather as a reactive response to an immediate crisis. It would be expected that further developments of the policy will include what has been learnt from this initial attempt.’
PAR 6. Give the reasons for your choice of policy/policies
This policy was chosen as obesity is an example of a wicked problem, and it is useful to analyse policy responses, and assess their likely effectiveness.
Obesity creates a $billion on the Australian health care system, and creates significant morbidity burdens for individual Australians. Include the statistics
• Explain the significance or importance of the policy in the health care system and for the target group. You could introduce statistics here that demonstrate the significance of the policy/policies to the health care system.
(2.5 marks/ approximately 150 words).
• Include a brief summary of the policy/policies that will be discussed (10 marks- approximately 300 words).
o A five year strategy
o Targeting x, y z
o Aiming to meet the targets of: explain targets
o Using the strategies of (for example) DO NOT USE DOT POINTS:
? Funding (say who/what the policy funds)
? Education/ health promotion
? Program
? Training of health professionals
? Increasing testing rates
? Specific regulations/ laws / guidelines
How to write body (1500 word)
Discussion should include
• Discusse the use of policy cycle and discuss the steps that are applicable to your policy.
• Look for the evaluation points in the policy and discuss the importance of evaluation
• Demonstrate an understanding of issue that related to policy and its importance to the health of the community or policy target groupexample- policy issue may linked to the national health prorities area.the detarminats of health,the political push or the demands for policy actions
• Discuss the policy frame work where is evident in the policy.focus on the key topic areas or focus issues from analyst toolkit THAT are releventto the policy you are discussing.
How to research for your policy assessment
Step 1.
Select the policy. You may want to read a few. Pick one in an area that interests you. Do not pick one that is just a list of directives, or is extremely long and hard to understand.
Step 2.Background understanding of the issues.
Read about this area of policy in Australia (for example, obesity reduction policy, tobacco prevention policies, drug prevention, falls prevention, road safety etc). Find an article that gives an overview – for example, this one on obesity in Australia: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.12103
Remember most of these issues were of no concern to start with, and then became an issue – you want to find out why).
• How long have there been these types of policies?
• Why did the issue become important?
• What power and conflict issues were there in forming the policy? For example between tobacco companies and anti smoking activists,
• Which target groups / disadvantaged groups are most affected by the issue?
• Who are the main stakeholders/interest groups?
• Make a note of any references you find here – you will be able to include them in your paper.
Step 3. Overview of the policy
Read the policy through and make notes and keep references of the pages.
What is the aim/vision of the policy? (write down. The aim of this policy is to…(reference)
Is it part of a larger strategy or set of policies? For example a State Plan, The National Drug Strategy (make a note and a reference)
Are there any specific targets ? targets are stepping stones to the aim/vision and will have specific numbers.
Who is the target group or groups?
Why is this issue important?
Is there any mention of disadvantaged groups, priority groups or vulnerable people?
Are there any ethical or legal issues?

Step 4. The policy cycle: seeing what stages are in your policy
Identifying issues/agenda setting The first stage of the policy cycle is known as ‘identifying issues’ (Althus et al 2013) or ‘agenda setting’ (Palmer and Short 2014).
identifying issues: A new problem emerges in private discussions with interest groups, or in the media, with demands for government action. Sometimes an existing policy ceases to be effective and requires an overhaul.
Agenda setting: is where the problem comes to be considered worthy of government action.
To write this part, refer the section in the policy as to why it is important (for example, rising health problems associated with obesity) and you can also refer back to your own research.
You could write this section something like this.
“Tobacco control first became a policy issue for government in the 1970s when it became apparent that cigarette smoking caused lung cancer and a wide range of other health issues.”(reference)
Policy analysis / policy formation.
This is where policy makers analyse different options. It may be hard to see evidence of this stage in the finished policy. However, there may be a discussion of the research that went into developing the policy, the rejection of earlier failed models. If so, include these/
Policy instruments
There will be examples of policy instruments in the policy. Remembering policy instruments are the ways in which a policy will be put into practice. Make a list of the policy instruments in the policy, and what they are trying to do. Instruments can include:
• Information, persuasion, health education/ health promotion. This instrument involves things like advertising campaigns on TV or social media (e.g. quit smoking, wear a seatbelt, advice on talking to your doctor etc)
• Government spending/taxation This is where the government tries to influence behaviour by spending money / or increasing taxes, for example through proving paid leave from work to people who have COVID (so they stay home!), or by increasing taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, or sugary drinks.
• Service delivery and funding These are direct services and programs.
• Laws: A new law or a change in the law. For example, making it illegal to smoke in restaurants, or moving opioids to prescription only (that is illegal for Chemists to sell over the counter.
This section could be written something like this:
“Several policy instruments are used to put the policy into practice including an education campaign for the public and health practitioners, provision of extra general practitioner services, and a new law to restrict the over the counter sale of opioids.”
You could then say something about these policy instruments and why they have been chosen. For example: “Plain paper packages of cigarettes is a policy instrument that has been effective in reducing cigarette sales in other countries” (reference).
Coordination
This is where different parts of government organise how they will fund and contribute to the policy. There may not be any information about this.
Decision (Althus et al)/adoption (Palmer and Short)
This is where government decides to formally adopt the policy. There may be some mention of this in your policy document. But clearly the policy has been adopted if it is not a draft or a background paper. So you can say something like: “The policy was adopted by the NSW Government and published on date X, to take effect on date X.”
Implementation
This is where promotion campaigns, laws and programs are actually in effect. That is, advertising is on TV, the laws exist and are enforced and the programs are funded and people are participating in them. You will be able to mention here the laws and programs involved – by referring back to your policy instruments. You need to state here whether there has been implementation and to what extent , or whether his process is still to occur. For example. ‘The healthy for life program in schools is scheduled to commence in 2021, where it will be rolled out across primary schools in all Australian jurisdictions.’
Evaluation
This is what is put in place to determine if the policy actually delivers what it is supposed to (programs, laws etc) and meets its targets.
The policy may be going to be formally evaluated. This may be mentioned in the policy. If so, make a note!
Also look for mention of how the policy impact will be measured: for example ‘Numbers of new HIV infections are recorded by NSW Health. This data will provide information on the impact of the policy in reducing new HIV infections to zero.”
Note if there is information about how the evaluation findings will be used. For example to develop the next policy. Noting that policies usually span a clear time period. You could also see how the policy has used information from past policies.
If there is no mention of how the processes and impacts of the policy are going to be measured – you should definitely state this.