Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to explore a health issue among a certain population group (e.g., women, the elderly, children, teenagers, LGBT people, people of color, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds etc) and to examine prevention efforts about this health issue for this group. Examples include: “Diabetes among African-American women”, “HIV among Latino gay men”, “Domestic violence against women”, “Asthma among children in inner-city neighborhoods”.
Identifying a topic: I strongly encourage you to email me your topic before starting your paper so I can let you know if it is suitable. Before you contact me, please make sure you do a search of the professional literature (peer-review journal articles) through the college library electronic databases (click on ACADEMIC RESOURCES and LIBRARY RESOURCES buttons on the left) to see that you can find enough articles on your proposed topic.
If you would like feedback on your topic, please email me the title of your topic together with a list of peer-review journal articles for your topic using the APA style. See attached handout “Professional Writing 1″ for how to compile a bibliography correctly. Do not send me abstracts or copies of articles. Your proposed topic should look like this: Example of a Topic.docx
To do: Write a paper that addresses all of the following components:
1) Identify the extent of the problem and explain why it interests you personally.
2) As a future health educator (or other human service professional), why is it important for you to know about this problem.
3) What are the causes of this problem (include your own personal opinion as well) among this group.
4) Describe mainstream attitudes in society about this problem and specifically toward this group and state whether you think they are justified.
5) Locate one organization in the US that deals with prevention of this health issue for this group. Describe the goals of each organization, types of services, problems and any other information you may think relevant (do not just copy and paste information off the organization’s website!)
6) If someone asked if you could recommend a website, movie/documentary, and a book about this health issue among this group, what would you tell them. Write a brief blurb about each one, identifying the name, author/source, what it deals with specifically and what things this person would find interesting about each. You must write about all three (website, movie/documentary and book). It goes without saying that you need to write about a book other than your textbook! And please make sure you choose a website, movie/documentary, and book that is specific to your chosen population group.
7) Summarize the main ways prevention of this health issue among this population group is being addressed in the US.
8) Identify one educational approach that has been developed to address this issue. Here you need to be specific. No generalizations or broad recommendations. You need to show your knowledge of prevention efforts for this health issue targeting this population group. Look at studies that have been conducted on this topic.
9) As a future health educator (or other professional), state how you will advocate about this health issue among this population group on a local and national level. Be specific and identify some concrete things you can do.
Things to bear in mind:
1) Make sure that you find peer-reviewed journal articles through the Lehman College library website. I do not want to see articles from a google search or use of wikipedia. Your articles need to come directly from professional scientific journals which are available to you on the college library website. For information about how to access full-text journal articles or how to contact a Lehman College librarian for help, please click on the ACADEMIC RESOURCES and LIBRARY RESOURCES buttons on the left.
2) Your paper needs to be written in a professional manner. That means you need to have a title for your paper on the first page followed by your name. Your paper should be formatted properly as instructed above. Make sure you number each page. Please make sure that you properly cite all your sources in your paper and provide a bibliography at the end. Make sure you follow the APA style. I do not want to see any quotes. You need to put everything in your own words and you need to cite all your sources. Make sure you click on the ACADEMIC RESOURCES button on the left for information about writing papers as well as how to use the APA style. You risk losing valuable points if you do not follow the APA style properly.
3) Your paper should be double-spaced, using Times New Roman, 12 pt font, and be 7-10 pages long (excluding cover page and bibliography). If you wish to write more that is fine as long as you remember it is quality that counts. Please choose your words carefully and thoughtfully and consider each paper as an opportunity to improve your writing skills. Use 1″ margins. There are to be no big gaps between paragraphs. Please do not attempt to make the paper seem longer than it is through crafty formatting. Each paragraph should be joined to the next paragraph. Begin each paragraph by indenting it 0.3”.
4) You can use a variety of resources to complete this paper, but you must use a minimum of 5 professional journal articles (e.g., New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Health Psychology, Health Promotion Practice, American Journal of Health Education, American Journal of Public Health etc). The more of these professional journal articles you use, the better. These articles must have been published within the last 5 years. Full-text articles can be accessed directly by going to the Lehman library website. Please do not try to find articles through Google or Yahoo etc. I will be able to tell by the types of journals you select. If you wish to earn a good grade, I strongly recommend that you use more than the minimum number of journal articles and write more than the minimum number of pages. But remember it is quality that counts!
6) Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in a zero grade. Please click on the ACADEMIC RESOURCES button on the left for information and policies about plagiarism.
7) Any assignments submitted after the deadline will earn a zero. No excuses and no exceptions.
8) Please write your paper in a Microsoft word file and save your file as “(Your last name)ResearchPaper”. For example: SmithResearchPaper.
