Comparisons of Health System Characteristics and Outcomes, Part I
Comparison of State and National Data

Note: Before completing this Discussion, please familiarize yourself with the Week 5 Discussion Rubric located in the Course Information area of the course navigation menu.

Cassandra’s father has recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Although she already knows that diabetes is a major health problem in the United States, she is surprised to discover that it is one of the leading causes of death. As she researches diabetes, she is even more surprised to learn that the prevalence of diabetes is significantly higher in the state of Tennessee, where she and her family live, than in most other states. Although the data she looks at sometimes vary depending on the source, comparing data from her state with national data gives her a better understanding of the impact of this disease. As Cassandra examines genetic, lifestyle, and environmental risk factors for the disease, she uncovers compelling distinctions between Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes that heighten her interest in addressing this health problem through her work as a health care administrator and as an advocate for improving health outcomes, not only for her father, but also for others who suffer from complications of Type 2 diabetes.

Assignment: Comparisons of Health System

Assignment: Comparisons of Health System

In this Discussion, you will research one of the leading causes of death in the United States, comparing data from your state with national data and examining risk factors associated with the health problem.

To prepare for this Discussion, examine the leading causes of death in the United States using the following websites from this week’s Learning Resources:

· CDC: Leading Causes of Death

· Medical News Today: What Are the Top 10 Leading Causes of Death in the US?

Select one leading cause of death on which to focus for this Discussion.

Using credible websites, research how your state’s data compare to national data related to this health condition. For example, you may search for information on the following websites, found in this week’s Learning Resources:

· Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

· United Health Foundation: America’s Health Rankings

· Trust for America’s Health

· Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Ensure that you examine comparable data from reliable sources. For instance, look at state and national prevalence rates from the same year and, ideally, from the same source.

Review the information on determinants of health (also referred to as risk factors) presented in Chapter 2 of the Shi and Singh (2015) textbook. In addition, conduct research using the Walden library and credible websites to identify and analyze the causes of your selected health problem and associated lifestyle, genetic, and environmental risk factors.

If you are an international student, you may research a leading cause of death in your country and compare data from your local community with national data.

Post by Day 3 a substantive and cohesive response to the following:

· Describe one of the leading causes of death.

· Compare your state’s (Georgia) data with national data related to this health problem. Identify your sources of data.

· Describe the causes of this health problem and associated lifestyle, genetic, and environmental risk factors/determinants.

General Guidance on Discussion Posts: Your original post, due by Day 3, will typically be 3–4 paragraphs in length (not including references) as a general expectation/estimate. Refer to the Week 5 Discussion Rubric for grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use the rubric to assess your work.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond by Day 5 to at least two of your colleagues’ postings, evaluating how the analysis informs your understanding of death and disease and its impact on health care delivery in various locations.

General Guidance on Discussion Responses: Your Discussion responses, due by Day 5, will each typically be 1–2 paragraphs in length as a general expectation/estimate. Refer to the Week 5 Discussion Rubric for grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use the rubric to assess your work.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of reading the comments your colleagues made.

Required Resources

Readings

· Shi, L., & Singh, D. (2015). Delivering health care in America: A systems approach (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

o Review Chapter 1, “An Overview of US Health Care Delivery” (pp. 20–28)

o Chapter 2, “Beliefs, Values, and Health” (pp. 52–73)

o Review Chapter 13, “Health Policy” (pp. 510–531)

o Chapter 14, “The Future of Health Services Delivery” (pp. 557–558)

Use the following websites to prepare for the Discussion:

· Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov

· Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Leading causes of death. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

· Medical News Today. (2014). What are the top 10 leading causes of death in the US? Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282929.php

· Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2014). RWJF datahub. Retrieved from http://www.rwjf.org/en/how-we-work/rel/research-features/rwjf-datahub.html

· Trust for America’s Health. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://healthyamericans.org/

· United Health Foundation. (2014). America’s health rankings. Retrieved from http://www.americashealthrankings.org

Optional Resources

· Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). The world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

· The Commonwealth Fund. (2013). International profiles of health care systems, 2013. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/fund-report/2013/nov/1717_thomson_intl_profiles_hlt_care_sys_2013_v2.pdf

· The Commonwealth Fund. (2015). Country comparison. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/interactives-and-data/us-compare-interactive#?ind=4&compare=CAN

· The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (n.d.). Global health policy. Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://globalhealth.kff.org/

· Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

 

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.