Rocky Mountain Public Health Case Competition 

The top three winning teams will be awarded scholarships:

• 1st Place:  $1,000 per team member
• 2nd Place:  $500 per team member
• 3rd Place:  $250 per team member

Teams will be given the case on Friday and will have only 24 hours to research and prepare a viable solution. Within the 24-hour period, teams will be assigned a study room on campus and will consult with a mentor for one hour. On Saturday, after the 24-hour period is up, each team will present their solution and recommendations in front of a panel of high-profile judges, policymakers, colleagues, and other audience members. The top teams progress to a finals round. After finals, an overall winner is announced, and a social event is held for competition participants and community members.

You can support the Rocky Mountain Public Health Case Competition Fund via the University of Colorado Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, with the tax-ID 84-6049811.

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Students who participated in the 2019 competition were tasked with developing a proposal for a $2 million grant for a multi-disciplinary task force to develop an initiative aimed at addressing the youth vaping epidemic in Colorado. 

First place: "Breathe Better Mentor Program" (Omar Alraddadi, Kyle Beekman, Keenan Douglas, Megan Jansson, Sophie Rosenberg)

Second place: "Youth Empowerment Accountability in Health: Yeah!CO" (Ibrahim Hassanin, Yosely Ruiz, Matthew Schmidt, Yadiel Tesfaye, Deepa Trivedi)

Third place: "#BreakTheVape" (Lena Amad, Mattie Kerns, Kristen Patrick, Kayleigh Mydosh, Abhishek Rauniyar)

Students who participated in the 2018 competition addressed the multiple public health issues that arise in a community following a natural disaster. The first place team focused on building community resilience following a flood.

The 2017 competition focused on suicide awareness and prevention. Fitting for Veterans Day, the winning team's focus was on veteran suicide prevention with a project title of “Serve and Support: You Stood for Us, Now Let Us Stand for You.”

The 2016 competition focused on opioid addiction and abuse in Colorado. Students competed to identify innovative solutions to address the epidemic.

In November 2015, students tackled the topic of healthy aging and maximizing independence in Colorado’s aging population. The event included health students from Rocky Vista University, as well as public health certificate students from the University of Colorado Boulder. 

It was determined that fall semester was the optimal time for students across many schools to participate in the competition, and Fall 2014 marked the first time the annual Public Health Case Competition became an interdisciplinary event. The competition, with a topic focused on pediatric and adolescent consumption of marijuana, drew participants from around Colorado.

April 2014 was both the inaugural year for the ColoradoSPH's Public Health Case Competition and marked the start of National Public Health Week on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The topic was focused around raising awareness about and increasing participation in vaccinations and immunizations throughout the state of Colorado.