| Course | HD420 Social Determinants of Health and Health Behavior |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 9 |
| Paper type | Intervention level proposal |
| Length | About 670 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health and Wellness |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HD420 Unit 9
Beyond the Coaches' Flyer: A Unit 9 Intervention Level Proposal for Youth Sports Concussions in a Composite County
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HD420: Social Determinants of Health and Health Behavior
Unit 9 Intervention Level Proposal
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The county, its leagues and every figure are composite; the consensus statement, the ecological model and the health impact pyramid cited are real.
The Problem
The county's emergency department records show about [140] sports-related concussions a year among players aged 11 to 18, most in football, soccer and girls' basketball. School nurses report that some players return to play within days, before symptoms have cleared. The international consensus statement on concussion in sport recommends that a player with a suspected concussion be removed from play and not return the same day, and that return follow a graduated, symptom-guided process after medical clearance (McCrory et al., 2017).
What Has Been Tried
Each fall, the county health department mails a flyer on concussion signs to every school and league. Coaches are asked to read it. There is no record of who does, and no change in the emergency department numbers over five years.
Why the Flyer Is Not Enough
The flyer works only at the individual level, on coaches' knowledge, and assumes that knowing the signs leads to removing a player. In practice, other conditions decide what happens. Only two of the county's seven high schools have an athletic trainer at games, and none of the middle schools or community leagues do. Coaches face pressure from players and parents to keep a starter in the game. There is no rule requiring written clearance before a player returns. And full-contact practice is allowed every day in some programs.
A coach who recognizes a concussion still has to decide alone, in the middle of a close game, with no trainer nearby and no rule to point to, so the flyer asks the person under the most pressure to make the hardest call.
Proposal by Level
The ecological model describes influences on behavior that run from the individual outward through relationships, organizations and communities to public policy (McLeroy et al., 1988). The proposal acts at each.
Individual: replace the flyer with a short required online course for coaches, with a certificate, and a version for players aged 12 and up that teaches them to report their own symptoms.
Interpersonal: a preseason meeting for parents in each program explaining removal and return-to-play steps, so parents support the coach's decision rather than challenge it.
Organizational: every school and league adopts a written policy: any player with a suspected concussion is removed for the day, and returns only with written clearance from a licensed health professional and after a stepwise return. Schools without trainers contract with a nearby clinic for game coverage at football and girls' basketball games.
Community: the county's youth sports association limits full-contact practice to two days a week in football and bans heading for players under 12 in soccer, following the approach some national youth organizations have taken.
Policy: the county board asks the state to extend its school concussion law, which currently covers only high school teams, to middle schools and community leagues.
Why Upstream
The health impact pyramid places changes to context and policy near its base, where they reach more people with less individual effort, and counseling and education near the top (Frieden, 2010). A return-to-play rule protects every player whether or not a particular coach read the flyer.
Costs and Feasibility
The online course is free from national sources. Game coverage by athletic trainers would cost about [$60,000] a year for the five high schools that lack one. Practice limits and policies cost little to adopt but require enforcement by the association.
Measures
1. Share of programs with a written removal and return policy.
2. Share of high school games with a trainer present.
3. Concussions treated in the emergency department, tracked over three years.
4. Repeat concussions within the same season, from school nurse records.
References
Frieden, T. R. (2010). A framework for public health action: The health impact pyramid. American Journal of Public Health, 100(4), 590-595. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.185652
McCrory, P., Meeuwisse, W., Dvorak, J., Aubry, M., Bailes, J., Broglio, S., Cantu, R. C., Cassidy, D., Echemendia, R. J., Castellani, R. J., Davis, G. A., Ellenbogen, R., Emery, C., Engebretsen, L., Feddermann-Demont, N., Giza, C. C., Guskiewicz, K. M., Herring, S., Iverson, G. L., . . . Vos, P. E. (2017). Consensus statement on concussion in sport: The 5th international conference on concussion in sport held in Berlin, October 2016. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(11), 838-847. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097699
McLeroy, K. R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A., & Glanz, K. (1988). An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Education Quarterly, 15(4), 351-377. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019818801500401
What the HD420 Unit 9 assignment asks for
The ninth unit typically asks for a proposal that addresses a health problem at more than one level of influence, usually using the social ecological model, and explains why action beyond individual education is needed. Proposals often run three to four pages. Credit goes to a clear account of what has been tried and why it fell short, an intervention at each level that matches a condition the analysis found, a reason for prioritizing upstream action, and attention to cost and measurement. Many sections reward citing clinical or technical guidance for the problem itself. Keep each level's action concrete enough to be adopted. Cite the ecological model and a framework for comparing interventions by reach.
How this HD420 Unit 9 example is built
The proposal describes the problem with emergency department counts and the consensus guidance on removal and graduated return. A section reports the flyer and its lack of effect. A section explains why the flyer fails, naming missing trainers, coach pressure, no clearance rule and daily contact practice; the highlighted sentence shows the flyer asking the most pressured person to make the hardest call. The proposal then sets out actions on every ring of the ecological model, from the individual through relationships, organizations and the community to policy. A section explains the upstream priority using the health impact pyramid. Costs and four measures, from policy adoption to repeat concussions, close the proposal. Each action names the body that would adopt it, from schools to the county board.
Where the points sit in the HD420 Unit 9 rubric
Intervention level proposals are generally graded on the analysis of why past efforts failed, the fit between each level's action and the problem, the case for upstream action, feasibility and measurement. Fit and the upstream case often carry most of the marks, since the unit asks students to move beyond education when the analysis points elsewhere. Analysis of past efforts earns credit when specific conditions are named. Feasibility rewards costs and a realistic adopter for each action. Measurement is rewarded when each level has an indicator. Citing clinical guidance for the health problem, as well as the ecological model, strengthens the proposal and shows command of the topic.
HD420 Unit 9 help: mistakes that cost points
A common weakness is a proposal that lists an action at each level without linking any of them to the problem's actual causes. Another is keeping education at the center and adding token policy items at the end. Some students propose policy changes no local body has authority to make. Others leave out costs and measures. Ignoring the guidance on the health problem itself can lead to actions that conflict with it. If your problem is different, perhaps heat illness, falls or teen vaping, describe what has been tried and what the analysis found, and the levels can be filled in from there. A proposal with no adopter named for each action reads as a wish list.
Get an HD420 Unit 9 example written to your instructions
Share the analysis your HD420 Unit 9 proposal builds on, or the case your section supplied, with the prompt and rubric. We draft a free first custom sample in 24-48h that places each intervention at the level your findings point to, names who would carry it out, and states the tradeoffs openly. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HD420 Unit 9 questions, answered
What counts as an intervention level?
Many HD420 prompts use the social ecological model: individual, interpersonal, organizational, community and policy. The Health Impact Pyramid offers a second lens, ranking interventions by population reach against the individual effort each requires. Use whichever your prompt names, and show each proposal's level explicitly, ideally in a table that maps causes to levels.
Can a student proposal include policy change?
Yes, and when the analysis points to a rule it usually should. The proposal does not need to be politically certain, only reasoned: name the body with authority, cite places that have adopted something similar, and state the likely objections. Graders tend to value a realistic policy proposal with admitted obstacles over an easy program that misses the cause.
How detailed should the costs be?
Enough to show feasibility was considered. Undergraduate proposals rarely need a full budget; staff hours, a per-unit cost or a comparable program's published expense usually suffices. Name the funding source that might plausibly cover it, such as a municipal budget line or a utility assistance fund, and flag any figure that is an estimate.
Where can I find a free HD420 Unit 9 sample paper?
This page contains the complete Unit 9 proposal, moving youth concussion prevention beyond a coaches' flyer to policies at every level.
Why is a return-to-play rule more effective than education alone?
A rule protects every player regardless of whether a coach read the material, and it gives coaches backing when players or parents push to return early.