Being able to research and find credible, reliable health information in a timely fashion is another skill necessary for the successful Public Health professional.Successful health educators have a strong knowledge base of health information. More importantly, they know how to LOCATE and EVALUATE health information. The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to locate, evaluate, read, and summarize professional sources of health information such as peer reviewed journal articles. In this assignment, you will conduct library research on a health topic of interest, see below, to find out important facts and details about your topic and share what youve learned in a written report.
Addiction
Alcohol Use
Alzheimers Disease
Asthma
Cancer Be Specific
Cancer Survivorship
Childhood Obesity
Diabetes
Dietary behavior
Food Safety
Heart Disease
HIV/AIDS
Injury & Violence
Mental Health
Obesity
Opioid Use
Physical Activity
Sexual Risk Behaviors
Specific Drug Use
Suicide
Tobacco Use
Water SafetyFirst:
Topic
Select your topic
Narrow your topic by priority population (race, gender, age, location, etc.)Second:
Research
Locate Peer-Reviewed Articles:
Using the electronic data bases we learned about in class, locate at least 8 high quality, peer reviewed journal articles on your topic. Journal articles must be current (less than 3 years old.)
Locate Valid & Reliable Government Websites:
You may supplement your eight primary sources with statistics from valid website sources (i.e. government web sites)
Save Articles/Print:
Use End Note to save articles and to document your notes on each.
Print these articles so that you have personal possession of them.
Read these articles and highlight or take notes on the key facts that apply to your paper.
NOTE: You must include a photocopy of the title page and abstract of each of your articles in Appendix II of your report.Third:
Bibliography
List each article using APA format.
Beneath each articles citation, please write (in your own words) a brief 2-3 paragraph summary of the key findings from that article.
OR
You may summarize the main points using a bulleted list / annotated bibliography. More information on writing an annotated bibliography is available at:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/Fourth:
Write your paper!
Using your bibliography / annotated bibliography as your primary source of information, please write a 6 page report on your topic, using APA style to cite your articles (8 minimum) in your report
Include at least one original table* and at least one original graphic image* (pie chart, bar graph) to make your information more accessible to your readers.
As you write your report, be sure to cite the table or the figure so the reader knows where to look (ex. Table 1) as your table(s) and graphic image(s) will be placed at the end of the report, in Appendix I.
* Note: Copy/paste tables and graphs do not count! Your report should include the following sections and sub-headings: Introduction:
Warm up your reader by introducing your topic. Get the reader interested in your topic with a hook of some type. Use creative and/or interesting facts or questions to stimulate interest. Clearly define and describe your topic in this section.
Clearly describe the target audience/priority population about whom you are writing (e.g. children, adolescents, young adults, senior adults).
Provide a clear, specific definition of your topic. If you are writing about childhood obesity, then define obesity in a measurable way using the definition(s) that the experts provide. How is obesity measured? For children, what is the definition of obese? What is the definition of obese for adults? If you are writing about skin cancer, then clearly describe/define skin cancer. Prevalence:
How common is this health problem or health behavior in the target audience for which you are writing? Using statistics that you find in your articles or from governmental websites, describe the prevalence of this behavior in the United States AND the state of Ohio, particularly for the age group in which you are most interested. For example, if your topic is exercise, how many people your age are exercising at the recommended frequency and intervals? Does the level of exercise differ by sex? By race? By age? By geographical location? Describe. Relevance:
Is your topic a priority for the health of Americans? How so? How does your topic relate to the health priorities of the United States in Healthy People 2020? Is your topic a national health priority for the United States? How so? Describe! Is your topic applicable to other national health campaigns or initiatives? Is there a national organization dedicated to your topic? (e.g. American Cancer Society). Explore the Healthy People 2020 website and find out what specific objectives are written about your topic. Significance:
What are the medical, societal, and personal costs associated with this health issue? Prove to your reader that this health problem is a big deal for your priority population. How much does this health issue cost us per year? For example, what are the health care costs associated with lack of exercise? How many potential years of life are lost due to lack of exercise? Is lack of exercise related to premature mortality and morbidity? Explain. Recommendations of Experts:
What do the experts say about how to change the health behavior or prevent the health problem that you are addressing? What do experts say about how to make the situation better? Describe the recommendations of experts regarding your topic. For example, if you are writing about exercise, what do the experts say about the recommended frequency and type of exercise? Be sure your experts are nationally recognized. For example, what is the recommended amount of exercise someone your age should be getting? Who says? What does the CDC say? What does the American College of Sports Medicine say? Conclusion:
Conclude with a paragraph or two that describes:
What you found to be most remarkable or most interesting about your research findings, and why.
What surprised you.
What you learned from this project.
How you could address this issue in a future job. References:
Beginning on a separate page, list the references you cited in APA format. See the link below if you do not know how to list your references in APA format:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/