This assignment combines reflections (subjective) and data (objective). Write a description of your learning experience as it relates to your team’s topic (housing insecurity or food insecurity at WCU). Address the following in separate sections:
Describe your understanding of the issue prior to taking this class
What you knew or thought you knew about the issue
What you have experienced and/or observed about the issue in your hometown and at WCU
What you believed was or wasn’t being done about the issue
Describe your understanding of the issue now
Briefly summarize the issue (give a general description of what housing/food security is and the affected population that is the subject of this class)
Describe highlights in the data your team received (what stuck out to you?)
Describe what you think should be done about the issue
This is your chance to practice thinking like an informed decision-maker who has a professional responsibility to act upon a public health problem. Select a way to address the issue and discuss specific decisions that a professional who is involved in this solution would have to make and specific actions they would have to take. You can consider the many types of professionals working on population health problems, such as:
Lawmakers and bureaucrats
Public health department professionals
Hospital administrators
Nonprofit and charity workers
Organized advocacy groups
Education professionals
Medical professionals
Think of the issue as if you were in a position to actually do something to make your solution happen. Pretend you are tasked with getting started. What do you do first? What are your short, medium, and long-term goals for this project?
Do not:
Vaguely characterize the solution (e.g., “they should make a policy” or “they should provide funding for this”). In the real world, there is no “they”. There are, however, the types of professionals listed above.
Simply express the need for change (“this is a serious problem”)
Propose a broad, unrealistic solution (“universities should provide free housing to all students in need using a fund that they could start”)
Do:
Research existing solutions and ideas
Become clear on what types of solutions these are
If the solution is a proposed law, is it local, state, or federal?
If the solution is a proposed nonprofit, volunteer organization or charity, where does the money come from to operate it and fund its work?
If it is a systemic solution (e.g., “college should be free”, “poverty should be eradicated through ….”), carefully consider how specific types of professionals would work toward making it happen.
Expectations:
5-7 pages not including title page and references, 12-point font, double-spaced on a Word document
Cite your descriptions of the problem and support for/barriers to your proposed solution (statistics, general statements about the existence and scope of the issue, public perceptions, work being done currently, etc.)
Do not use quoted material–summarize in your own words
Use quality data sources (class readings, government websites, peer-reviewed journals)
Avoid the use of low-quality media outlets (newzandstufff.org, thisseemslegit.com) and data points taken from secondary sources instead of their original sources (“according newzandstufff.org, CDC data show that more young people experience food insecurity..”)
APA 7 formatting
Be careful. Many students get confused about what constitutes APA formatting. There are specific rules for title pages, headers, headings, page numbers, margins, in-text citations with one, two, or more authors, quoted material, references pages, and more. Do not include an abstract. Follow the student paper template found here: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_sample_paper.html
All papers will be run through SafeAssign. Unoriginal work will receive zero credit and will be subject to review by the School of Health Sciences.
