| Course | PUBH 6641 Applied Project in Public Health |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion post with replies |
| Length | About 580 words, 4 pages |
| Format | Discussion post, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Public Health (MPH) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PUBH 6641 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: Proposing an Applied Project Problem
One Problem, One Place: A Discussion Post Proposing an Applied Project on Low Rates of Mercury Screening of Imported Skin Creams Among Women in Two Neighborhoods of a Composite County, With Two Replies
Main Post
For my applied project I want to work on a problem I meet in my job as a community health worker with the Marlow County Health Department, a composite county: very few women in our Eastgate and Riverbend neighborhoods have ever had their skin-lightening or "beauty" creams checked for mercury, even though some of those creams are bought abroad or from informal sellers and some are known to contain it. I think the problem is real, measurable and small enough for one person's project document.
It is real. Mercury is sometimes added to skin creams because it lightens skin, and the amounts can be enormous. In one analysis of 549 skin-lightening products bought online and in stores in several countries, 6% contained more than 1,000 parts per million of mercury, and 3.3% of those bought in the United States did (Hamann et al., 2014). U.S. rules prohibit mercury in cosmetics except in trace amounts below 1 part per million, apart from a narrow exception for eye-area products (21 C.F.R. § 700.13). The harm can be severe. In 2019, a woman in Sacramento who had used a cream from Mexico twice daily for seven years developed methylmercury poisoning; the cream contained 12,000 parts per million of mercury, and despite treatment she was left unable to speak or care for herself (Mudan et al., 2019).
It is measurable. Whether a cream contains mercury can be screened on the spot with a portable analyzer, and positives can be confirmed by a laboratory. The number of creams screened, the share that contain mercury and what women do afterward are all things I could count.
It is small enough. I am proposing two neighborhoods, not the county, and one kind of product, not all cosmetics. The project would not try to stop sales, which is a job for state and federal regulators. It would give women a free, private way to learn whether their cream is safe and help those with contaminated creams stop using them.
What worries me is stigma. I don't want the project to suggest that women are wrong to want these products; the issue is the mercury, not the women. I would be grateful for ideas on how others have framed projects that touch on personal choices.
Reply From Gabriela
I like how narrow this is. Have you thought about whether the health department can get a portable analyzer? That seems like the piece that could stall the whole project.
Response to Gabriela
Good question. Our state public health laboratory lends an X-ray fluorescence analyzer to local health departments for lead screening of consumer products, and I have asked whether it can be used for creams. If it can't, the project would have to rely on sending samples to the laboratory, which is slower and would change my objectives.
Reply From Ahmed
On stigma, one approach I've seen is framing everything around product safety, the way people talk about recalled food. Women aren't blamed when a food is contaminated.
Response to Ahmed
That's a helpful frame. A "product check" rather than a "health warning" puts the problem where it belongs, in the cream, and it fits the regulatory picture too, since the mercury shouldn't be in the product at all (21 C.F.R. § 700.13).
References
Hamann, C. R., Boonchai, W., Wen, L., Sakanashi, E. N., Chu, C.-Y., Hamann, K., Hamann, C. P., Sinniah, K., & Hamann, D. (2014). Spectrometric analysis of mercury content in 549 skin-lightening products: Is mercury toxicity a hidden global health hazard? Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 70(2), 281-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2013.09.050
Mudan, A., Copan, L., Wang, R., Pugh, A., Lebin, J., Barreau, T., Jones, R. L., Ghosal, S., Lee, M., Albertson, T., Jarrett, J. M., Lee, J., Betting, D., Ward, C. D., De Leon Salazar, A., Smollin, C. G., & Blanc, P. D. (2019). Notes from the field: Methylmercury toxicity from a skin lightening cream obtained from Mexico, California, 2019. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 68(50), 1166-1167. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6850a4
Use of Mercury Compounds in Cosmetics, 21 C.F.R. § 700.13 (2024).
What the PUBH 6641 Week 1 instructions ask for
The first discussion in an applied project course asks students to propose the problem their project will address, usually in their workplace or community. Prompts typically require a one-sentence problem statement, evidence that the problem is real, a sense of how it could be measured and an argument that it is narrow enough to tackle in one term's planning document. Many instructors also want the student to name the organization that would carry out the project and one risk or uncertainty. Replies to classmates are expected, often focused on feasibility. Posts that propose a broad goal such as "improving health equity" earn less than posts that name one problem in one place with a measurable outcome, and instructors look for students who already sense what the project will leave out.
How the PUBH 6641 Week 1 example is put together
The post states the problem in a single sentence and then defends it under three claims. "Real" draws on a large product analysis, the federal limit and a published poisoning case. "Measurable" explains that portable screening and laboratory confirmation can produce counts. "Small enough" narrows the project to two neighborhoods and one product type and rules out enforcement. A paragraph raises stigma as the writer's concern and asks for ideas. Two replies follow: one presses on the feasibility of borrowing an analyzer, and the writer answers with a fallback; the other suggests a product-safety frame, which the writer adopts and links to the regulation.
PUBH 6641 Week 1 rubric: what earns full marks
This first thread is usually marked on how clearly the problem is stated, the evidence that it is real, the plausibility of measurement and the feasibility of the scope. Clarity means one problem in one place, stated so a reader could repeat it. Evidence should include at least one scholarly or official source. Measurement credit goes to posts that name what could be counted and how. Feasibility is shown when the scope fits the student's real access and time. Engagement with replies, especially accepting a useful suggestion, earns participation marks. A post that raises its own risk or ethical concern before anyone else does tends to be read as more mature.
PUBH 6641 Week 1 help from the desk
The commonest problem is a topic that is too large, such as a whole disease or a whole county. Shrink it to one group, one place and one behavior or exposure you can count. Check that you can actually reach the people and data you need. Find one strong source showing the problem exists. Say what the project will not do. Raise any ethical concern yourself. If you are torn between topics, write one sentence for each and choose the one with the clearest measure. Describe your workplace problem in a few lines and we can shape an opening post around it.
Get a PUBH 6641 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Post the Week 1 prompt and rubric, and mention the problem you are considering if you already have one; the post is then built around it. Where no topic exists yet, the invented county and its radon problem stand in openly. It reaches you within 24-48h, and a first sample costs nothing.
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PUBH 6641 Week 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free PUBH 6641 Week 1 sample paper?
The opening post and its two replies appear above, proposing that women in two neighborhoods get their creams checked for mercury.
How much mercury can skin-lightening creams contain?
In one analysis of 549 products, 6% contained more than 1,000 parts per million, far above the U.S. limit of trace amounts below 1 part per million.
What makes an applied project problem small enough?
One group, one place and one measurable exposure or behavior that a single person can plan for within a term.
Why leave enforcement out of the project?
Removing products from sale is a job for state and federal regulators, and taking it on would damage trust with the community.
How can a project avoid stigmatizing women who use these creams?
By framing the work as product safety, placing the problem in the cream rather than in the user.