Community Health Research Project Assignment
In order to better understand the health needs and practices of various cultures within communities, you will conduct research on a community health issue that commonly affects a particular culture or group, a neighborhood or community, or a particular culture’s response to health issues and treatment.
You will identify a culture, group, or neighborhood/community you would like to conduct health research on.
Select a health issue, need, and/or health behavior or practice pertaining to the culture, group, or neighborhood you chose. For example, there may be a particular health issue that predominantly affects the culture or community you choose (e.g. rock music culture and drugs, African Americans and heart disease, rates of child asthma in the Bronx and Harlem).
“The topic I chose is based on African Americans and heart disease. The research paper will be written about African Americans in the US as a whole instead of one specific community. Heart disease is a major health concern among African Americans, who suffer from higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity compared to other racial groups. This disparity is thought to be due to a combination of genetic factors, lifestyle choices, and socioeconomic factors. Researchers are studying the impact of these variables on heart disease risk in African Americans, as well as exploring potential interventions to reduce their risk. By understanding the unique factors contributing to heart disease in this population, healthcare providers can develop more targeted prevention and treatment strategies to improve the cardiovascular health of African Americans.”
Once you have chosen the culture, group, or neighborhood and area of health needs and/or practices that you want to research you should think of at least two questions or myths that you want to address in the research. An example of a myth is “women present heart attack symptoms the same as men”
Your summary should include the following information:
Discuss how you feel about the particular health issue after having a chance to look at it more closely.
Do you feel that community health organizations and agencies are addressing the issue effectively?
Did you find anything surprising?
Did you find anything within the culture, group, or neighborhood you researched that you would like to change, or try or adopt into your own lifestyle? Why/why not?
As a result of your research, you will produce a paper summarizing the information you researched about the health needs and practices of the culture, group, or community neighborhood.
5. The last page(s) of your research paper will list your references.
5 sources,
of which at least 3 are peer-
review journal articles or
scholarly books. Sources
include both general
background sources and
specialized sources. Special-
interest sources and popular
literature are acknowledged
as such if they are cited. All
web sites utilized are
authoritative.
