# Choose Your Agency Research Path

Part of the Public Health Merit Badge Digital Resource Guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/public-health/guide/index.md)

*7. Public Health Agencies*

> **7a.** Do ONE of the following

You must choose exactly one option from this requirement. Both paths teach you how a health agency works, but one does it through an in-person visit and the other through careful research online.

## Your Options

- **[Req 7a1 — Visit a Public Health Agency](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/public-health/guide/req7a1/)**: Meet public health work face to face. You may see offices, lab or field programs, inspection systems, emergency planning, or community-health services in action. This option helps you understand the people and systems behind the agency.
- **[Req 7a2 — Investigate an Agency Website](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/public-health/guide/req7a2/)**: Study what the agency publishes online — current alerts, statistics, programs, resources, inspections, and emergency guidance. This option helps you understand how agencies communicate with the public and organize information.

## How to Choose

**Choosing between a visit and a website study** — Both satisfy the requirement, but they teach different things

- [ ] **Best for seeing the human side of the work**: Choose **7a1**. You can ask questions and notice things that never appear on a webpage.
- [ ] **Best for flexible scheduling**: Choose **7a2**. You can do detailed research even if an in-person visit is hard to arrange.
- [ ] **Best for current examples and public alerts**: Choose **7a2**. Agency websites often show real-time priorities.
- [ ] **What you will gain**: **7a1** gives you direct experience with professionals and procedures. **7a2** builds research skills and helps you interpret how agencies serve the public through information.

> **Tip**
>
> No matter which option you choose, collect evidence. Save notes, screenshots, handouts, or names of programs so you have specific examples for Requirement 7b.

You are not just completing a visit or browsing a site. You are preparing to explain how a real health agency responds to disease, mortality, and disasters.

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