Research has consistently shown that significant health disparities exist between individuals living in rural communities, and individuals living in urban/metropolitan communities. Reasons for this are multifactorial, and include factors such as access to healthcare, health insurance status, income, education, transportation availability, and other factors. Consequently, individuals living in rural communities have higher rates of chronic diseases (such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental health disorders), higher rates of potentially preventable hospitalizations, higher rates of hospital re-admissions, and increased risk of premature mortality.
For this assignment, you will create a public health “one-pager” that presents key information about a public health issue (select from list below) faced by individuals living in rural communities. One-pagers are often used to convey key information about a particular topic in a brief, but informative format, in order to inform key stakeholders (such as patients, hospital administration, grant funding agencies, policy makers, etc.). Your public health “one-pager” must adhere to the requirements listed below. Sample “one-pagers” are included in this instruction document, and the grading rubric for the assignment is also included in at the end of the document.
Your public health “one-pager” must reflect significant research and application of epidemiological concepts learned in this class. This assignment is due by the due date listed in the syllabus. Late work will not be accepted and will receive a zero for the assignment. Nursing students need to be sure to upload their assignment in Typhon.
Public Health “One-Pager” Requirements:
Select one public health issue from the list below:
Obesity
Type II Diabetes
Cardiovascular Disease
Depression
Premature birth
Present key information about your selected public health issue in the form of a public health “one pager” as it pertains to health disparities incurred by individuals living in rural communities. Your “one-pager” must contain all of the information below:
Title
Introduction and Background:
Definition of the problem (for example, if your topic is obesity – you need to explain what obesity is/how it is defined, scientifically.
General impact of the problem on health, morbidity, and/or mortality. Make sure to include epidemiological statistics (rates, prevalence, and/or incidence) about the impact of the problem on one (or more) of these outcomes. This section should also include discussion about health disparities/differences between the impact of the problem in individuals in rural vs. urban/metropolitan communities. Make sure to include epidemiological statistics (rates, prevalence, and/or incidence) to illustrate health disparities between rural and urban communities.
Reasons for the observed health disparities in rural communities.
From your research, briefly discuss the reasons why health disparities exist for your selected public health issue in rural communities. This might include things such as lack of transportation, access to healthcare facilities, social support, financial issues, education, nutrition, or other factors. Make sure to include evidence from your research to support the reasons you describe in this section.
Current or projected need:
Discuss current and/or projected needs for this public health issue in rural communities. In other words, what has been suggested to help reduce rural health disparities for your selected public health issue?
Conclusions and next steps/future directions
Summarize the scope of the problem and current or projected needs in one to two statements/sentences.
Based oin the research you conducted, briefly discuss your own suggestion(s) or future directions for reducing rural health disparities in your selected public health issue.
General requirements/formatting:
All required information must be displayed on one page. It is suggested to use bullet points instead of paragraphs, and visuals instead of text when possible. Information presented must be accurate, informative, and concise!
Font size must be 11 point or larger.
Visuals must be included in your one-pager (consider using graphs, charts, word art, etc.).
Any graphs/charts/etc. that were created by someone else (for example, graphs taken from a research article) must be cited according to APA format (see below).
Information included in the one-pager must be cited both in text and in a references section. Your references section can be included on the first page of the “one-pager” if you have room, or it can be listed on a second page. See the NCWU Library APA formatting guide listed here for help with APA formatting: https://ncwc.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=52417486
A minimum of five reputable sources must be cited in this assignment, three of which must be peer-reviewed articles. For information about what constitutes a peer-reviewed article, see the NCWU Library guides or course instructor. The use of websites as a resource should be kept to a minimum, or not used at all (preferred), and only reputable scientific websites may be used (for example: National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Cleveland Clinic, etc.). Keep in mind that websites and textbooks are not peer-reviewed sources.
It is highly suggested that students access writing resources provided by the NCWU Library when developing this assignment:
https://ncwc.libguides.com/c.php?g=1008155
https://ncwc.edu/academics/library/writing-center/
Public Health One-Pager Grading Rubric
Below is the grading rubric that will be used to evaluate your public health one-pager.
Title: (2 pts)
Was the title concise, informative, and did it accurately reflect the information presented? (2 pts)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Introduction and Background: (25 pts)
Was the problem accurately defined? (5 pts) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Did the introduction/background section discuss the impact of the problem on health, morbidity, and/or mortality, and did this include epidemiological statistics to support the discussion? (10 pts) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Did the introduction/background section include discussion about health disparities/differences between the impact of the problem in individuals in rural vs. urban/metropolitan communities and were epidemiological statistics presented to support this discussion? (10 pts) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reasons for the observed health disparities in rural communities: (8 pts)
Did this section include accurate reasons why health disparities exist for the selected public health issue in rural communities and were these reasons supported by research evidence? (8 pts)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Current or projected need: (9 pts)
Were current and/or projected needs for this public health issue in rural communities discussed, and were they specific to rural health? (5 pts) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Did the current and/or projected needs align with the problem presented in the introduction and reasons sections? (4 pts)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusions and next steps/future directions: (9 pts)
Did the summary statements accurately represent the information presented in the main content of the one-pager? (4 pts)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Did the student show understanding of the public health issue, and key factors related to the public health issue, in their suggested future directions/initiatives? (5 pts)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
General formatting: (17 pts)
Did the format of the one-pager follow the instructions for the assignment (font, use of visuals, limited to one page, etc.)? (5 pts) _______________________________________________________
Were references cited in text and in a references section and did they follow APA formatting? (4 pts)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Did the student use at least 5 references, 3 of which were peer-reviewed journal articles? (4 pts)
__________________________________________________________________
Was the one-pager organized, easy to read, and informative? (4 pts)
_____________________________________________________