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Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - PHC6412
Tracking Number - 3144
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Current Status:
Approved by SCNS - 2013-10-11
Campus: Tampa
Submission Type: Change
Course Change Information (for course changes only): The current course PHC 6412 Health Disparities needs to be revised to include material with regard to social determinants of health.
Comments: to GC 5/6/13 for MPH Conc Changes. Approved. Cleared Syst Concurrence 7/31/13. to SCNS 8/5/13. Approved eff 9/1/13
Detail Information
- Date & Time Submitted: 2013-03-29
- Department: Community and Family Health
- College: PH
- Budget Account Number:
- Contact Person: Rita DeBate
- Phone: 8139746683
- Email: rdebate@health.usf.edu
- Prefix: PHC
- Number: 6412
- Full Title: Health disparities and social determinants
- Credit Hours: 3
- Section Type: C -
Class Lecture (Primarily)
- Is the course title variable?: N
- Is a permit required for registration?: N
- Are the credit hours variable?: N
- Is this course repeatable?: N
- If repeatable, how many times?: 0
- Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): health disparities
- Course Online?: C -
Face-to-face (0% online)
- Percentage Online: 0
- Grading Option:
-
- Prerequisites: None
- Corequisites: None
- Course Description: This course is designed to examine health disparities and associated social determinants in the U.S. Also included is an exploration of multi-level intervention strategies for reducing health disparities.
- Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course: Needed for program/concentration/certificate change
- What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service? This course will be required for all students in the MPH health education and socio-health science concentrations.
- Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times? No
- What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.) experience in public health
- Objectives: Critically evaluate and apply a broad range of social and behavioral science theories to analyze public health problems in terms of factors which influence problem development and alternative approaches to their solution.
Understand similarities and contrasts in the approaches taken by different social and behavioral science disciplines in the study of health related problems.
Exhibit an in-depth understanding of the relationship between individual, interpersonal, social, structural, cultural and biological factors as they impact the etiology and management of illness.
Demonstrates effective written and oral skills for communicating with different stakeholders.
Critically evaluates scholarly research in public health in terms of scientific rigor, appropriate use of methods and measures and contribution to science.
- Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course, the student will:
1. Describe the root causes of ethnic disparities in health outcomes and health care systems use.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with multiple theoretically-driven ideas and concepts that are used to explain health disparities and social determinants of health.
3. Explain some of the difficulties and challenges associated with operationalization of theoretical and social determinant constructs for measurement and interventions.
4. Describe the role of cultural competence in healthcare provision.
5. Analyze the role of culture and health literacy in public health practice.
6. Identify research methodologies often used in studies of disparities in healthcare and health status.
7. Explain the role of proper data collection and research for monitoring healthcare disparities.
8. Discuss technical pitfalls in interpreting the effects of ethnicity on health outcome variables.
- Major Topics: Week 1 Introduction and Review of the Syllabus
• ISSUES: The Importance of Recognizing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare
Week 2 Social Determinants of Health:
•
Week 3 Models to Explain Health Disparities: Understanding Complex Causal Pathways from Multiple Perspectives
Week 4 Race and Ethnicity and their Place in Healthcare Disparities
• ISSUES: Race and Racism -The Complex Meaning of Race in Public Health
Week 5 Measuring Health Disparities: Issues with Operationalization of Theoretical and social Determinant Constructs for Measurement and Intervention
indicator.
Week 6 Documenting Disparities
• ISSUES: Outlining the Extent of Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Healthcare and Status
•
Week 7 Gender, Sex and Power
Week 8 Documenting Disparities: Black-White Pregnancy Outcomes
• ISSUES: Outlining Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Pregnancy Outcomes
Week 9
Race and Ethnicity Issues at Provider Settings
• ISSUES: Ethnic and Racial Disparities at the Provider Level
•
Week 10 Patient and System-Level Variables
• ISSUES: Potential Patient and System-Level Causes of Ethnic and Racial Disparities
•
Week 11 Clinical Encounters and Health Disparities
• ISSUES: Medical Decisions Under Pressure, Provider Prejudice or Bias and Patient Mistrust and Refusal to Accept Care
•
Week 12 Stress. Social Capital and Social Support
Week 13 Culture and Literacy, Cross Communication and Cultural Competence Problems in Health Disparities
• ISSUES: Cultural Competency in Healthcare, Provider Education and Healthcare Workforce Diversity
•
Week 14 Other Disparities
• ISSUES: Residential Segregation & Mental Health
•
Week 15 Future Directions and Needed “Understandings” To Advance Research
• ISSUES: The need to understand the role of individual and provider factors in disparities
•
Week 16 Group Project Presentation and Wrap up of the Course
- Textbooks: 1. Smedley, Brian D., Adrienne Y. Stith and Alan R. Nelson (Editors). 2003.
Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
2. LaVeist, Thomas A. (Editor). 2002. Race, Ethnicity and Health: A Public Health
Reader. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: Week 1 Introduction and Review of the Syllabus
• ISSUES: The Importance of Recognizing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Brian D. Smedley, et. al, “Why are Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare Important?”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 36-38.
2. Thomas A. LaVeist, “Introduction: Why We Should Study Race, Ethnicity and Health”, in LaVeist: 1-7.
3. David R. Williams and Chiquita Collins, “U.S. Socioeconomic and Racial Differences in Health: Patterns and Explanations”, in LaVeist: 391-431.
Week 2 Social Determinants of Health:
• Link, BG, Phelan, J (1995). Social conditions as fundamental causes of disease. Journal of Health and Social Behavior; Extra Issue: 80-94.
• Macintyre S, Ellaway A (2000). Ecological approaches: rediscovering the role of the physical and social environment. In LF Berkman, I Kawachi (eds) Social Epidemiology, pp 332-48. Oxford: New York.
Week 3 Models to Explain Health Disparities: Understanding Complex Causal Pathways from Multiple Perspectives
1. William W. Dressler, Kathryn S. Oths,and Clarence C. Gravlee RACE AND ETHNICITY IN PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH: Models to Explain Health Disparities (2005).Annual Review of Anthropology. Vol. 34: 231-252
2. Smaje C (1996). The ethnic patterning of health: New directions for theory and research. Sociology of Health & Illness. 18(2): 139-171.
3. Krieger N. (2001). Theories for social epidemiology in the 21st century: an ecosocial perspective. International Journal of Epidemiology. 30: 668-677.
4. Williams SJ (1995). Theorising class, health and lifestyles: can Bourdieu help us? Sociology of Health and Illness. 17(5): 577-604. (Note, unless you are focused on Bourdieu, you can read just pages 577-581)
Week 4 Race and Ethnicity and their Place in Healthcare Disparities
• ISSUES: Race and Racism -The Complex Meaning of Race in Public Health
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Richard Cooper, “A Note on the Biological Concept of Race and Its Application in Epidemiologic Research” in LaVeist: 99-114.
2. Thomas A. LaVeist, “Beyond Dummy Variables and Sample Selection: What Health Services Researchers Ought to Know about Race as a Variable”, in LaVeist: 115-128.
3. Camara Phyllis Jones, “Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale”, in LaVeist: 311-318.
4. “Rodney Clark, et. al, “ Racism as a Stressor for African Americans: A Biopsychological Model”, in LaVeist: 319-339.
5. Sherman A. James, “John Henryism and the Health of African Americans”, in LaVeist: 350-368.
Week 5 Measuring Health Disparities: Issues with Operationalization of Theoretical and social Determinant Constructs for Measurement and Intervention
1. Adler NE, Boyce T, Chesney MA, Cohen S, Folkman S, Kohn RL & Syme SL. (1994). Socioeconomic status and health: The challenge of the gradient. American Psychologist; 49(1): 15-24.
2. Goodman E. Adler NE, Kawachi I, Frazier L, Huang B & Colditz GA. (2001). Adolescents' perceptions of social status: development and evaluation of a new indicator. Pediatrics, e31: 1-8.
Week 6 Documenting Disparities
• ISSUES: Outlining the Extent of Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Healthcare and Status
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Brian D. Smedley, et. al, “Evidence of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 38-77.
2. R. Sean Morrison, et. al, “”We Don’t Carry That”: Failure of Pharmacies in Predominantly NonWhite Neighborhoods to Stock Opioid Analgesics”, in LaVeist: 463-471.
Week 7 Gender, Sex and Power
1. Chaftez JS. (1997). Feminist Theory and Sociology: Underutilized Contributions for Mainstream Theory. Annual Review of Sociology. 23: 97-120
2. Inhorn MC and Whittle KL. (2001). Feminism meets the “new” epidemiologies: toward an appraisal of antifeminist biases in epidemiological research on women’s health. Social Science and Medicine. 53:553-567.
3. Wingood GM & Diclemente RJ. (2005). Application of the theory of gender and power to examine HIV-related exposures, risk factors, and effective interventions for women. Health Education and Behavior. 27(5): 539-565.
Week 8 Documenting Disparities: Black-White Pregnancy Outcomes
• ISSUES: Outlining Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Pregnancy Outcomes
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Arline T. Geronimus, “Black-White Differences in the Relationship of Maternal Age to Birthweight: A Population-Based Test of the Weathering Hypothesis”, in LaVeist: 213-230.
2. Richard J. David and James W. Collins, Jr, “Differing Birthweight Among Infants of U.S.-Born Blacks, African-Born Blacks and U.S.-Born Whites”, in LaVeist: 252-264.
Week 9
Race and Ethnicity Issues at Provider Settings
• ISSUES: Ethnic and Racial Disparities at the Provider Level
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Brian D. Smedley, et. al, “The Healthcare Environment and Its Relation to Disparities”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 80-124.
2. Mary-Jo DelVecchio, et. al, “The Culture of Medicine and Racial, Ethnic, and Class Disparities in Healthcare”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 594-625.
3. Kevin A. Schulman, et. al, “The Effect of Race and Sex on Physicians’ Recommendations for Cardiac Catheterization”, in LaVeist, 516-530.
4. Michelle van Ryn and Jane Burke, “The Effect of Patient Race and Socioeconomic Status on Physicians’ Perception of Patients”, in LaVeist: 547-574.
• RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOK READING
• H. Jack Geiger, “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Diagnosis and Treatment: A Review of the Evidence and a Consideration of Causes” in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 417-454.
• Sherrie H. Kaplan, Sheldon Greenfield, John E. Ware, Jr. “Assessing the Effects of Physician-Patient Interactions on the Outcomes of Chronic Disease.” Medical Care, 1989; 27(3): S110-S127. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3765658
• Jason Schnittker. “Social Distance in the Clinical Encounter: Interactional and Sociodemographic Foundations for Mistrust in Physicians.” Social Psychology Quarterly, 2004; 67(3): 217-235. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3649109
• Michelle van Ryn. “Research on the Provider Contribution to Race/Ethnicity Disparities in Medical Care.” Medical Care, 2002; 40(1): I140-I151. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3767871
Week 10 Patient and System-Level Variables
• ISSUES: Potential Patient and System-Level Causes of Ethnic and Racial Disparities
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Brian D. Smedley, et. al, “Assessing Potential Sources of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Care: Patient and System-Level Factors”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 125-159
2. Jeff Whittle, et. al, “Do Patient Preferences Contribute to Racial Differences in Cardiovascular Procedure Use”, in LaVeist: 577-590.
3. B. Alex Matthews, Ruric C. Anderson, Ann B. Nattinger. “Colorectal Cancer Screening Behavior and Health Insurance Status (United States).” Cancer Causes & Control, 2005; 16(6):735-742. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/20069521
4. Timothy Gilligan. “Social Disparities and Prostate Cancer: Mapping the Gaps in Our Knowledge.” Cancer Causes & Control, 2005; 16(1): 45-53. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/20069439
RECOMMENDED READINGS
5. Thomas A. LaVeist and Amani Nuru-Jeter. “Is Doctor-Patient Race Concordance Associated with Greater Satisfaction with Care?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2002; 43(3): 296-306. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3090205
6. Jennifer Malat and Mary Ann Hamilton. “Preference for Same-Race Health Care Providers and Perceptions of Interpersonal Discrimination in Health Care.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2006; 47(2): 173-187. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/30040309
Week 11 Clinical Encounters and Health Disparities
• ISSUES: Medical Decisions Under Pressure, Provider Prejudice or Bias and Patient Mistrust and Refusal to Accept Care
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Brian D. Smedley, et. al, “Assessing Potential Sources of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Care: The Clinical Encounter”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 160-179.
2. Lisa Cooper-Patrick, et. al, “Race, Gender, and Partnership in the Patient-Physician Relationship”, in LaVeist: 609-625.
3. Somnath Saha, et. al, “Patient-Physician Racial Concordance and the Perceived Quality and Use of Health Care”, in LaVeist: 626-643.
Week 12 Stress. Social Capital and Social Support
1. Dressler, William W. Culture and the stress process, pp. 119-134 in A Companion to Medical Anthropology. Merrill Singer and Pamela Erickson, Eds. New York: Wiley-Blackwel
2. Kawachi I, Berkman L (2000). Social cohesion, social capital, and health. In LF Berkman, I Kawachi (eds) Social Epidemiology, pp 174-90. Oxford University Press: New York.
3. Szreter S & Woolcock M. (2004). Health by association? Social capital, social theory, and the political economy of public health. International Journal of Epidemiology. 33:650-667.
Week 13 Culture and Literacy, Cross Communication and Cultural Competence Problems in Health Disparities
• ISSUES: Cultural Competency in Healthcare, Provider Education and Healthcare Workforce Diversity
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Brian D. Smedley, et. al, “Interventions: Cross-Cultural Education in the Health Professions”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 199-214.
2. Lisa A. Cooper and Debra L. Roter, “Patient-Provider Communication: The Effect of Race and Ethnicity on Process and Outcomes of Healthcare”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 552-593.
Week 14 Other Disparities
• ISSUES: Residential Segregation & Mental Health
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Leiyu Shi and Gregory D. Stevens. “Disparities in Access to Care and Satisfaction among U.S. Children: The Roles of Race/Ethnicity and Poverty Status.” Public Health Reports, 2005;120(4): 431-441. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/20056816
2. Tyrone F. Borders, Angelique Brannon-Goedeke, Ahmed Arif, Ke Tom Xu. “Parents' Reports of Children's Medical Care Access: Are There Mexican-American versus Non-Hispanic White Disparities?” Medical Care, 2004; 42(9): 884-892. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/4640831
3. Dana C. Hughes and Sandy Ng. “Reducing Health Disparities among Children.” The Future of Children, 2003; 13(1): 152-167. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1602645
4. David R. Williams and Chiquita Collins. “Racial Residential Segregation: A Fundamental Cause of Racial Disparities in Health.” Public Health Reports, 2001; 116(5): 404-416. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/4598675
5. Jessica Greene, Jan Blustein, Beth C. Weitzman. “Race, Segregation, and Physicians' Participation in Medicaid.” The Milbank Quarterly, 2006; 84(2): 239-272. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/25098117
6. Krysia N. Mossakowski. “Coping with Perceived Discrimination: Does Ethnic Identity Protect Mental Health?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2003; 44(3): 318-331. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1519782
7. Amy Schulz, David Williams, Barbara Israel, Adam Becker, Edith Parker, Sherman A. James, James Jackson. “Unfair Treatment, Neighborhood Effects, and Mental Health in the Detroit Metropolitan Area.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2000; 41(3): 314-332. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/2676323
Week 15 Future Directions and Needed “Understandings” To Advance Research
• ISSUES: The need to understand the role of individual and provider factors in disparities
• REQUIRED READINGS
1. Brian D. Smedley, et. al, “Needed Research”, in Brian D. Smedley, et. al: 235-243.
2. Amy M. Kilbourne, PhD, Galen Switzer, PhD, Kelly Hyman, PhD, Megan Crowley-Matoka, PhD, and Michael J. Fine, MD, MSc. “Advancing Health Disparities Research Within the Health Care System: A Conceptual Framework.” Am J Public Health. 2006 December; 96(12): 2113–2121. Available on PubMed at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1698151/?tool=pmcentrez
3. Anita L. Stewart and Anna M. Nápoles-Springer. “Advancing Health Disparities Research: Can We Afford to Ignore Measurement Issues?” Medical Care, 2003; 41(11): 1207-1220. PDF file available online on JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3768410
- Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: 1.Reflection Papers: 3 at 15 pts each= 30%
2.Facilitation of Article Critique & Class Discussion 10 pts = 10%
3.Interview Assignment: Activities in Progress: 15pts = 15%
4. Group Project Assignment: Health Disparities Report and Hypothesis (Group Assignment) 20pts = 20%
5. Research Paper (Individual Assignment) 30pts = 30 %
Class Participation: 10pts=10%
Total= 100 pts
- Assignments, Exams and Tests: 1.Reflection Papers: (3 at 5% each) 15%
Students will be asked to complete 3 reflection papers in response to readings, activities, and films viewed in class. Papers will have a limit of 2 pages, and specific instructions and topics for each paper will be provided as the course progresses. These papers will be due electronically and in paper copy 1 week from assignment date.
2.Facilitation of Article Critique & Class Discussion 10%
As the course progresses, each student will be assigned an article to critique from the list of required course readings. Students will then prepare and lead small group discussions on the goals of the article, its strengths and weaknesses, implications for policy and practice, and directions for future research. As part of this assignment each student will prepare 3 thoughtful questions that encourage their peers to think about applications of the article for policy, practice and future research. Students will then prepare a 2-3 page summary including an outline of the material covered, the 3 questions asked, and each of the groups responses. These papers will be due in the class following the facilitation activity.
3.Interview Assignment: Activities in Progress: 15% (Individual Assignment)
The purpose of the interview project is to identify and critique activities in progress (research, intervention programs, policies, etc.) to reduce health disparities and or address the social determinants of health such as racism, sexism, poverty, social exclusion, sub-standard housing etc. at the state or local level in Florida; or nationally through a federal agency or some other professional organization.
Students are expected to accomplish the following activities:
Interview a professional working in an agency or program that works to reduce health disparities and or address social determinants of health such as racism, sexism, poverty, education, social exclusion, sub-standard housing, etc. that directly impact health at one of the varying levels of intervention (personal care, program design or implementation, research, policy-making, funding) to determine:
• Description of their program.
i. How are they funded, who do they fund; how much,
ii. Population affected, etc…
iii. What do they do, how do they do it….
• Their operating conceptual model of how they expect the things they do will address social determinants of health.
• What they think are some limiting factors in achieving their goals?
• When they expect to see results? How will the measure results?
• What are some of the successes to date?
• Others
Interviews should be completed by DATE and class time will be provided to conduct these interviews during normal business hours to assist students with full work and course loads during the week. Be sure to plan your interview well in advance as it may be very challenging to coordinate your schedule with those of busy professionals, and you may need more than one conversation to complete your interviews. Students will present their findings briefly in class. Specific time frame and formatting instructions will be provided. The deadline for papers is no later than DATE. Papers will be accepted and appreciated before that date.
4. Group Project Assignment: Health Disparities Report and Hypothesis (Group Assignment) 20%
Select one group from list A and one general health problem from list B:
LIST A
African American
Hispanics
Native Americans
Asian Americans
Recent Immigrant group (ANY)
List B
Heart disease
Cancer
Low birthweight OR very low birthweight infants
Infant Mortality
Child or adult Obesity
Diabetes or Hypertension
Hepatitis
AIDS
WHAT SHOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE PROJECT
1. Find statistics on the rate or prevalence of the condition, or information on its severity or impact for the selected ethnic group. HINT: start with an exploratory literature/web search to ascertain that the group selected from LIST A is at a significantly higher-risk for a specific condition in LIST B than Caucasian Americans. The disparity in health status should suggest that special targeting may be necessary for prevention or treatment.
2. Show that there is a health disparity (as seen in the rate or prevalence of the condition, its severity or impact) between this ethnic group and Caucasian Americans. Use any source, including the required textbooks or any website to gather information.
3. Outline possible environmental, socioeconomic, structural barriers to access, cultural (e.g. health beliefs) or behavioral (sick behavior, disease preventive behavior) causes that might have produced the observed disparity in health status for the selected ethnic group.
4. Choose a variable (or a small set of variables…e.g. health beliefs or structural barriers to healthcare, etc) which seem(s) to be the major root cause of the health disparity in question.
5. Provide a substantive argument which outlines whether you think the observed disparity is an accurate description of a true difference in health status or NOT.
6. Develop one or two (or more) hypotheses that could be tested. Each hypothesis should state a possible CAUSAL relationship between a cultural, behavioral or social factor for the selected ethnic group and:
• disparity in a health condition (e.g., infant mortality, low/very low birthweight infants, heart disease, AIDS, breast cancer mortality) OR
• disparity in use of health care services, (e.g. mental health, disease prevention programs, emergency rooms, child immunization, cancer screening) .
7. Discuss some major questions which must be answered (for instance in relation to health insurance coverage, health education, disease prevention, environmental improvement, education improvement, medical literacy improvement, improving provider cultural competence) in order to be able to develop strategies to reduce or eliminate the disparity in health status for the selected ethnic group.
8. Each group should prepare an informal 15-20 minutes presentation (using PowerPoint or a Poster) and be ready to for class discussion of the presentation. The presentation can be made by one or a few of the group members. However, the contributions made by each group member must be highlighted.
9. Groups must meet at least once with the Instructor during project development.
5. Research Paper (Individual Assignment) 30%
Guidelines and PAPER OUTLINE
1. A “TITLE PAGE” on which the following should be printed
• Student Name
• Proposal Title
• Date (day/month/year) the Paper is Completed
2. INTRODUCTION in which the issue being researched is DEFINED and a brief argument is made as to why the issue is IMPORTANT TO RESEARCH. Also, in this section, provide detailed background information (be as extensive as necessary for the general purpose of the Research Proposal).
3. LITERATURE REVIEW. Here provide review of relevant literature with proper REFERENCING and present your views on any theoretical or methodological shortcomings in the literature. What is of importance here are the following:
• Quality of references adequate to support text (e.g. current professional journals, or major newspapers, or sources available at reputable Web-sites).
• Web-citations from federal or state sources (spell out agency, date of release and author, if applicable, in the bibliography) may also be used.
• Logical, well-organized presentation of the literature
• Analysis (versus description) of the literature
• Objective discussion of the issue being presented (citing varying positions; pros/cons; other alternatives considered).
4. a CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK section in which you tie different concepts together to create your own theoretical/conceptual explanation of the issue(s) being researched. Here you [a] identify theoretically relevant variables or concepts which explain the issue(s) to be researched, [2] identify the causal connections among the variables and concepts and [3] create hypothesis which you will eventually test once you collect the information/data needed for the proposed study.
5. METHODS: Though the term Methods means much, for this paper, the meaning of Methods is limited to [1] definition of variables and [2] outlining how each variable will be operationalized (measured).
6. Create a Concept Map. This is a causal diagram in which you show how the determinant and outcome variables you have selected are causally connected.
7. LIST OF REFERENCES.
NOTES
• [1] Proper referencing and appropriate use of grammar, punctuation, spelling and paragraphing are expected. [2] Double-spaced page formatting. [3] Use 12 characters per inch lettering. [4] 1” top, bottom, left and right margins. [5] Page numbers. [6] Expected text length of the FINAL version of the Proposal is 10-15 pages, inclusive of List of References and Title Page.
• IF YOU STILL HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO GO ABOUT WRITING THE PAPER, PLEASE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE ME.
- Attendance Policy: Course Attendance at First Class Meeting – Policy for Graduate Students: For structured courses, 6000 and above, the College/Campus Dean will set the first-day class attendance requirement. Check with the College for specific information. This policy is not applicable to courses in the following categories: Educational Outreach, Open University (TV), FEEDS Program, Community Experiential Learning (CEL), Cooperative Education Training, and courses that do not have regularly scheduled meeting days/times (such as, directed reading/research or study, individual research, thesis, dissertation, internship, practica, etc.). Students are responsible for dropping undesired courses in these categories by the 5th day of classes to avoid fee liability and academic penalty. (See USF Regulation – Registration - 4.0101,
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/ogc%20web/currentreg.htm)
Attendance Policy for the Observance of Religious Days by Students: In accordance with Sections 1006.53 and 1001.74(10)(g) Florida Statutes and Board of Governors Regulation 6C-6.0115, the University of South Florida (University/USF) has established the following policy regarding religious observances: (http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/gc_pp/acadaf/gc10-045.htm)
In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.
- Policy on Make-up Work: We strive to create an environment that promotes critical thinking as well as interactive and motivating. Thus, it is expected that students engage in class discussion and contribute their ideas in a manner that is respectful, even when there is a difference of opinion. Do not speak when someone else is talking and listen with an open mind.
The instructor expects assignments to be turned in on time.
Students are expected to have read the assigned readings prior to the start of class and may be asked to summarize the main points of the assigned readings during class.
Students are asked to turn off or silence cell phones and pagers before the beginning of class. The use of laptops for personal note taking is permitted. However, checking personal email, searching the Internet, playing games and/or other inappropriate uses of technology is not permitted.
Any student with a disability is encouraged to meet with the instructor privately during the first week of class to discuss accommodations. Each student must bring a current memorandum of accommodations from the Office of Student Disability Services and give the instructor two weeks’ notice before exams. All course documents are available in alternative format if requested. For more information: http://www.asasd.usf.edu/index.htm.
Any student who anticipates the need of missing any exams due to the observation of a major religious observance should provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second-class meeting.
Disruption of the academic process is intolerable and contrary to university policy: It may result in a mandatory, fee-liable drop of the disruptive elements, suspension or dismissal from the university.
See Institutional Policies section for Emergency Preparedness for Academic Continuity.
Indicate your policy and procedure for receiving an incomplete grade for the course.
COPH policy: http://publichealth.usf.edu/academicaffairs/academic_procedures.html
- Program This Course Supports: MPH concentrations in health education and socio-health sciences
- Course Concurrence Information: Anthropology, sociology, social work
- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.