DC Public Health Case Challenge
The DC Public Health Case Challenge aims to promote interdisciplinary, problem-based learning around a public health issue that faces the local Washington, DC, community. Universities in the DC area that have a school or program of public health form teams consisting of 3-6 members from at least three disciplines. Teams are given a case, written by students from the participating universities, that provides background information on a local public health problem. Teams have a limited amount of time to devise a comprehensive intervention, which they present to an expert panel of judges. Teams are judged on the interdisciplinary nature of their response, feasibility of implementation, creativity, and practicality. Each year a topic for the case is chosen that is relevant in the local DC area and also has broader domestic and global resonance.
The topic of the 2024 Case Challenge will be A Public Health Approach to Address Substance Use and Mental Health Concerns among Emerging Adults in the DMV Area. The 11th Annual DC Public Health Case Challenge will take place on October 18, 2024 at the NAS Building.
Case Challenge Highlights Video
This short video features the university teams and some of the students who competed in the 2022 DC Public Health Case Challenge that was focused on the youth role in the building of protective community environments to prevent and tackle intimate partner violence in the District of Columbia. Students had 2 weeks to design a solution responsive to the case, and they presented before a panel of judges in a one-day event. More details about the 2022 and previous competitions are provided below.
2024 Case: A Public Health Approach to Address Substance Use and Mental Health Concerns among Emerging Adults in the DMV Area.
The 2024 DC Public Health Case Challenge took place on October 18, 2024. Seven competing teams from D.C.-area universities — each with up to six members from at least three disciplines — had just over 2 weeks to develop a solution to this complex problem with a hypothetical $1.5 million budget to be used during a three-year period. The teams presented their solutions to a panel of expert judges who evaluate their solutions based on the interdisciplinary nature of the proposals, feasibility of implementation, creativity, and practicality. The Grand Prize and three other prizes were awarded.
Case Challenge | Informational Webinar | Winning Proposal
2023 Case: A Public Health Approach to Improve the Health of Women Experiencing Homelessness in D.C.
The 2023 DC Public Health Case Challenge took place on Friday, October 6, 2023. Seven competing teams from D.C.-area universities — each with up to six members from at least three disciplines — were given two weeks to develop a solution to this complex problem with a hypothetical $1 million budget to be used during a two-year span. The teams presented their solutions to a panel of expert judges who evaluated the interdisciplinary nature of the proposals, feasibility of implementation, creativity, and practicality. The Grand Prize was awarded, along with prizes for interprofessionalism, and two Wildcard prizes (for a community-centered solution and for innovation).
Case Challenge | Informational Webinar | Winning Proposal | Summary
2022 Case: Protective Community Environments and Their Contribution to Intimate Partner Violence Prevention: The Role of Youth
The 2022 DC Public Health Case Challenge took place on Monday, October 10, 2022. Six DC-area university teams developed and proposed solutions with a hypothetical $1 million budget to be used during a five-year span. The teams presented their solutions to a panel of expert judges, and they were evaluated on the interdisciplinary nature of their response, feasibility of implementation, creativity, and practicality. The Grand Prize was awarded, along with prizes for interprofessionalism, and two Wildcard prizes (for integrating theater into a solution, and for cohesive and detailed presentation of the solution).
Case Challenge | Informational Webinar | Winning Proposal | Summary
2021 Case: Prevention and Control of Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infections in Young Adults 18-24
The 2021 DC Public Health Case Challenge took place on Friday, October 29, 2021. Seven universities from the DC area developed and presented solutions to address sexually transmitted infections in DC. Their solutions were evaluated by a panel of expert judges and four prizes were awarded: the Grand Prize, Practicality Prize, Harrison C. Spencer Interprofessional Prize, and a Wildcard Prize.
Case Challenge | Informational Webinar | Winning Proposal | Summary
2020 Case Challenge was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019 Case: Reducing Health Disparities in Maternal Mortality by Addressing Unmet Health-Related Social Needs
Case Challenge | Winning Proposal | Informational webinar
2018 Case: Reducing Disparities in Cancer and Chronic Disease: Preventing Tobacco Use in African American Adolescents
Case Challenge | Winning Proposal | Informational webinar | Summary
2017 Case: Lead and Adverse Childhood Experiences: Neurological and Behavioral Consequences for Youth in the District of Columbia
Case Challenge | Winning Proposal | Summary | Informational webinar | Follow-Up Event
2016 Case: The Changing American City and Implications for Health and Well-Being of Vulnerable Populations
Case Challenge | Winning Proposal | Summary
2015 Case: Supporting Mental Health in Older Veterans
Case Challenge | Winning Proposal | Summary | Follow-Up Event
2014 Case: Supporting Adult Involvement in Adolescent Health and Education
Case Challenge | Winning Proposal | Summary | Follow-Up Event
2013 Case: Violence Affecting LGBT Youth
Case Challenge | Winning Proposal | Summary | Follow-Up Event
The DC Public Health Case Challenge is co-sponsored by the National Academy of Medicine’s Kellogg Health of the Public Fund and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Population Health Improvement, with support from the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education. The Case Challenge is modeled on Emory University’s Global Health Case Competition, and was born when representatives from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Georgetown University met at Emory’s competition in March 2013.
For more information, contact Amy Geller, Senior Program Officer, at ageller@nas.edu.
