Health Literacy COMM 4397 (Spring 2006)
Towards Becoming Effective Health Care Consumers & Advocates
Jim Query, Ph.D.
The purpose of this page is to ID my expectations for the research porject that we will be doing and the accompanying content. This document should be used in close conjunction with the Writing Standards Guide, APA guide within research papers, (see classes page), and the StyleWizard [link at the bottom of classes' page]. Handout. To ease your perusal, an outline format is employed.
OPTIONAL RISK-FREE PROSPECTI DUE DATE: February 15, 2006.
FINAL PROSPECTI DUE: February 28, 2006.
FINAL REPORT DUE: May 10, 2006.
POINT VALUE: 20 percent for prospectus and 20 percent for the final report.
PROSPECTUS AND FINAL PAPER LENGTH PARAMETERS:
While I do have reservations about specifiying an exact length, it is expected that a successful prospectus will span about 8-12 PP per person and the final paper will cover approximately 8-12 PP (these are somewhat flexible ranges) per person. Although you will share ideas and coordinate your activities with your group, you must author individual sections addressing the parameters noted in this document. You must also be able to ID individual website contributions.
For many of you, this type of project will be novel. While your grp must agree about which pressing health care issue to examine and address (e.g., AIDS epidemic, obseity, eating disorders, etc.), s
each of you will work more independently than in most "typical" groups. You may share some resources and ideas; however, I cannot emphasize enough that each of you should adopt somewhat of an entrepreneurial role. Consider too that if any aspect of the health care crisis, and health literacy in particular, was straight-forward, such a novel approach would be unnecessary.
REQUIRED SOURCES:
At least 30 (across the group), including the texts. You may also use two of the current event articles discussed in class and four net citations. It is a "good" idea to use some of your sources in the risk-free version so I may ID a problem without penalizing you. It is required that at least half the 30 sources be used in the final prospectus and the remainder in the final report.
FORMAT:
All papers should adhere to the standards specified in the writing standard guide, use third person, follow correct documentation procedures (APA), must be typed using double-spacing, have page numbers and section labels (see classes page). Assume also that you are writing to a HEALTH LITERACY neophyte. A neophyte is one who is new to an area, and thus, has much to discover.
OVERVIEW :
It is often uncomfortable and awkward when working in a small group, especially when you may not have any previous knowledge of each other. These feelings are quite typical so please try not be alarmed. Note also that it is a very sound strategy to strive for a high degree of open-mindedness when tackling pressing health care problems. Such situations tend to be "thorny," potentially polarizing, and fraught with dilemmas. At this juncture, you may also be thinking...."OHHH please...I do not intend to be a physician, nurse, etc....NOR have I been ill. So, why should I care??? Well...consider that for the grace of a higher power goes each of us...moreover, is there anyone in this room who can convince the rest of us that the American health care system is fine??
Although I have taught health comm for several years, this is my first time teaching health literacy. And yes, I am still somewhat apprehensive, as I can imagine you are. We will also address some topics that trigger intense feelings. Rather than adhering to one "best solution" when facing such challenges, it is more productive to weigh the pros and cons and attempt to ID the choices that make the most sense for particular individuals given their situation. One example may be helpful. In one of my earlier classes, a small group suggested that we should send ALL individuals with AIDS/HIV to Mars and it was the "BEST" solution....Yep, I am quite serious....
As the course unfolds, we will undoubtedly experience some "speed bumps" and may struggle at various points. Together though---armed with patience, diligence, and commitment---we can push the envelope and hopefully develop action plans that could make a difference in the lives of those who are experiencing or affected by the respective health care issues and low health literacy levels. Make no mistake....the challenge is great but so too are the potential rewards and I thrive on such hurdles. Hope you do as well. *VBS*
ASSIGNMENT EXPLICATION:
I. Introduction----Provide a brief overview of the condition and how it affects your population of interest (e.g., Alzheimer's disease and family members; ovarian cancer and women; breast cancer and family members; multiple scerlosis and adolescents; substance abuse and adolescents; eating disorders and young women; prostate/testicular cancer and men; Lou Gehrig's disease and family members; HIV and individuals of color, as well as among males and females; unwanted teen pregnancies and the young women that bear the children; depression in males and females in North America; female gential mutilation in other countries). There are many other possibilities. Your goals in this section are to educate me and the class about the issue, and then explicate some of its impacts on society. Part of your analysis should demonstrate how widespread the issue is and detail key impacts (e.g., health care costs; missed days at work; emotional costs such as caregiving burden, elevated risk for depression and/or suicide, etc.) Be sure to focus in particular on what is known about your target audience's health literacy levels and how that knowledge leads to opportunities and challenges when trying to lessen the issue's intensity. Provide at least two examples demonstrating low literacy levels among your target population. [All grp members complete this section]. .
II. Past Strategies to Lessen the Issue---Identify and explain at least four strategies which have been used to address the issue previously. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of prior strategies. (Contemplate how to ascertain the relative ads and disads...consider noted costs....Also, how many folks were reached and/or helped. Be able to decribe the extent to which these strategies were successful, mixed results, or unsuccessful. [Ideally, two grp members complete this section.]
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III. Recommendations---Based on your grp's working knowledge of the issue (see I and II) as well as past strategies, develop a short and long-term action plan to lessen the nature and impacts of the issue. As much as possible, be specific and realistic here. For example, if your group is targeting low health literacy levels among the homeless in Houston, what local non-profit and other organizations might be recruited to help tackle this issue? Why would such organizations be best suited to this issue? Be sure to address potential communication channels (e.g., interactive web casts, emails, PSAs) and message campaigns that might be brought to bear on the issue. For each part of the plan, provide some cost estimates (these can be culled from prior interventions and from interviews with skilled professionals working in the area). At the close of this section, explicate how we might evaluate the merits of the proposed plan? [Ideally, at least two grp members complete this section.]
IV. Feasibility---Present key arguments that support the grp's recommended action plans (see section III). Use sources to increase the cogency of your proposals. Be sure to also address how practical the plans would be and advance a justification for your conclusions. [All students complete this section.]
