Discussion: HEA Disease Control Strategy
Discussion: HEA Disease Control Strategy

Question Description
Students will select a disease of their choosing and, based on epidemiological principles, propose a strategy to reduce or eliminate the disease. Students will have had their disease topic approved by the instructor before writing their proposal paper.

The choice of disease may be wide-ranging, from acute (Ebola virus) to chronic (HIV/AIDS) infectious diseases, to non-infectious diseases such as obesity, diabetes, mental illnesses, or even roadway accidents. Further, the choice of strategy may be of varied scope and scale (from a small community to the United States), may include one component (e.g., screening) or multiple components (e.g., screening, vaccinations, and modifying the built environment), and may be of any geographic location.

Specific guidelines are discussed below:

1. This assignment is to write a 1,000-word proposal paper (not including the title page or references page), which includes a minimum of 5 scholarly references, not including the textbook or lectures.

2. The content of the Disease Control Strategy proposal should cover four key areas: • The need for the strategy – what impacts does the disease have on individuals and communities? For example, does it reduce life expectancy? How does it impact functioning and quality of life? Is it expensive for our healthcare systems once individuals are infected? How you describe the need for the strategy will vary based on your disease topic, but you should make a clear case why it warrants immediate attention. • The current state of the disease – in epidemiological terms, what does the disease “look like”? For example, what are the incidence and prevalence rates? Are there disparities by race/ethnicity, geographic location, etc., in risk or outcome? • What is known about the causal nature of the disease – using epidemiological terms, what do we know about the disease and what causes it? For example, how is it spread? How long does it take for someone to develop an illness after exposure? What is known about major causes of the disease? Are there any comorbid conditions associated with the disease? • What should be done about the disease? This is the “strategy” portion of the proposal. This portion of the proposal is where you will be creative by suggesting how we should try to prevent or eliminate the disease. This strategy should make sense given what you describe in the previous three key areas, and especially the third (the causal nature of the disease). The strategy will not be judged by the feasibility of its implementation, but rather on the rationale behind the ideas.

3. The proposal should be well-organized. It should roughly cover the four key areas in order, although variance from this order is acceptable if it enhances readability. The paper should have a brief introduction and conclusion as well.

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4. Word usage should be excellent, and the flow of the proposal should enhance readability.

5. The proposal should be proofread. Any spelling, punctuation, or other such errors should be corrected before submitting the final version.

6. The proposal should meet the technical guidelines (see below)

Technical Guidelines

1. The paper should have a minimum of 5 scholarly references, not including the textbook or lectures.

2. All papers should have 1″ margins on all sides

3. Font should be 12-point Times New Roman (yes…even the running head and page numbers)

4. Text should be double-spaced

5. You should have a title page containing the title of the paper, the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation.

6. Include the page header (also known as the “running head) at the top of every page. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type “TITLE OF YOUR PAPER” in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper’s title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.

7. Please note that on the title page, your page header/running head should look like this: Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

8. Pages after the title page should have a running head that looks like this: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

9. References start on a separate page from the paper. Refer to the APA Manual for information on formatting a reference page.

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.

Discussion: HEA Disease Control Strategy