HLT 515 Week 1 Discussion Paper

HLT 515 Week 1 Discussion Paper

HLT515 Social Behavior and Cultural Factor in Public Health

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1

What are social, behavioral, and cultural determinants? How do social, behavioral, and cultural determinants impact public health? Present specific examples within your answer as well as justifying your rationale with evidence. Respond to three other class members’ posts specifically peer-reviewing their answers.

DQ2

Very wealthy or influential public figures (such as Bill Clinton and Bill Gates) have become major funders in the global health arena, providing millions to developing countries and/or international organizations. How do you think this will influence the future of public health? What benefits and challenges may develop?

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Interactive Media Assessment

Access the interactive media piece, “Social, Behavioral, and Cultural Factors in Public Health: Increasing Cultural Competency.”

Navigate and review the information in the interactive media piece and complete the assessment at the end. The assessment is based on the information presented in the media piece (although you may also apply what you have learned from other course readings to complete the assessment).

After completing the assessment, save the document as an Acrobat PDF file and submit the assignment to the instructor.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Research Paper

For this assignment, you are to select a target population with a specific health issue and research how social, cultural, and behavior factors of the target population contribute to health outcomes associated with the health issue. The 1,200-1,500 word Research Paper must including the following:

Introduction: Provide a concise synopsis of the purpose of the paper and a general introduction to the target population and the health issue.

Target Population: Provide a description about the target population that you have selected; provide demographic information about the population; and discuss relevant social, cultural, and behavior factors that affect this population.

Health Issue: Provide information discussing the health issue that you have selected; include a history of knowledge and public health understanding regarding the health issue; how it has evolved; biological and epidemiological information related to the disease; and major social, cultural, and behavior factors that affect or relate to the health issue.

Relationship Between Health Issue and Target Population: Analyze how social, cultural, and behavior factors in the target population contribute to the health issue; and identify what factors/characteristics are positive or negative and which behaviors/practices/beliefs serve as risk factors or protective factors.

Current Strategies/Interventions: Discuss existing programming to prevent or reduce the health issue within the target population and challenges to interventions and programming.

Recommendations/Conclusion: Make recommendations to resolve the health issue within the target population based on your review of current literature and what you have learned throughout the course.

Minimum of Five References: Use the GCU Library to locate at least five resources, including at least two peer-reviewed articles.

Refer to the “Academic Writing Guidelines Resource.”

Be prepared to present a rough draft of your Research Paper for peer review at the beginning of Topic 6.

Use the completed “Peer Review Guide” from Topic 6 in making revisions and modifications to the final draft of your Research Paper.

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Academic Writing Guidelines Resource

Description         Guidelines and Examples

Organization and

Structure             Organization is the internal structure of a piece of writing, the thread of central meaning that ties the piece together from beginning to ending.

A piece of solid academic writing:

• Begins with an introduction regarding the piece’s primary purpose or theme, which prepares the reader for what is to come (i.e., thesis statement).
• Ends with a conclusion that summarizes the key points of the piece, draws conclusions, and generally provides closure for the reader.

The body of a piece of academic writing can be organized around a variety of structures.

Examples of organizing structures:

• Main idea/thesis, with supporting details/evidence
• Comparison-contrast
• Deductive logic
• Point-by-point analysis
• Development of central theme
• Chronology or history (e.g., of an event, process, era)

Solid academic writing uses transitional words and phrases to provide logical connections and sequencing.                Examples of transitional words:

• Addition: also, again, as well as, besides
• Consequence: accordingly, as a result, consequently, for this reason.
• Generalizing: as a rule, as usual, generally
• Illustration: for example, for instance, for one thing.
• Emphasis: above all, chiefly, with attention to, especially, particularly
• Similarity: comparatively, coupled with, correspondingly
• Exception: aside from, barring, besides, except, excluding
• Restatement: in essence, in other words, namely
• Comparison: in contrast, by the same token, conversely, instead, likewise
• Summarizing: after all, all in all, briefly, in any case, in any event, in conclusion, in short, in summary, finally

Conventions and

Mechanics          Description         Guidelines and Examples

Solid academic writing is characterized by the proper use of conventions and mechanics, including: spelling, grammar, paragraphing, capitalization, and punctuation.

Examples of conventions and mechanics in academic writing:

• Proper use of capitalization, punctuation, and quotation marks.
• Subject/verb agreement.
• Proper use of pronouns.
• Technical abbreviations, acronyms, and units of measurement.
• Paragraphs that are indented; consisting of three or more sentences.
• Use of title page, headers, and footers.
• Avoid the use of: contractions, incomplete and run-on sentences.

Word Choice and Usage                In solid academic writing, the use of language is precise, with correct word usage and appropriate word choice.

Guidelines for language use:

• In good descriptive writing, strong word choice clarifies and expands ideas.
• In persuasive writing, careful word choice moves the reader to a new vision of possibilities.
• Effective word choice depends less on an exceptional vocabulary and more on the skill to use everyday words well.
• Use a thesaurus for new words with more specific meaning: For example, “pronounce” for “say,” or “embarkation” for “start.” In academic writing, “it” as the subject of a sentence is not acceptable. Make sure the reader knows what the subject of each sentence is.

Research and Resources               In solid academic writing, it is at times necessary to support your thesis or argument with outside research. Use of proper resources for accurate and thoughtful support of any argument or position is essential in academic writing.             Some strongly recommended sources for student use are:

GCU Library for search engines located at: http://library.gcu.edu

For instructions on how to use the GCU library, access and view our tutorials at:

http://my.gcu.edu/Academics/Library/Pages/Help.aspx

For good research techniques, view the tutorials in the Student Success Center.

Other Resources:

• Online Writing Lab at Purdue University:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
• Google Scholar:http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws
• ProQuest:http://www.proquest.com/en-US/
• Lexis/Nexis
• Northern Light Search:http://www.nlsearch.com/home.php
• INFOMINE Scholarly Internet Research Connections:http://infomine.ucr.edu/

Additional Resources:

1)            “Mechanics of Writing”:http://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/0131428993/samplechapter/0131428993_ch01.pdf

2)            “Key Terms in Academic Writing”:http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/0/388b46277676ac8b852569cf00615929?OpenDocument

3)            “Academic Writing Skills”:http://www.yourdictionary.com/dictionary-articles/Academic-Writing-Skills.html