Getting Started
Upon successful completion of the course material, you will be able to:
Examine current issues in Healthcare Policy and Management.
Resources
File: Issue
Analysis
Outline
Background Information
Issue Analysis Guidance
Opportunities for analyzing issues, problems, or situations are found in every discipline, workplace, and real-life situations. As a healthcare administrator, you will be called upon to think about, closely examine, and often write documents that analyze in order to understand complicated issues in our professions or lives.
An issue analysis looks at an issue from two or more points of view and then develops a reasoned response. Factual material is used in support of opinions.
Thesis Statement
Your thesis statement is centered on an inclusive sentence or sentences that provide an overview for the reader and predicts the content of your paper. If your issue is the use of prescription drug abuse, for example, your thesis should address the various stakeholders’ perspectives on this issue and be clear, specific, and focused. You will want to synthesize the various components of this problem and analyze how the various articles you research are arguing the solution to the problem or why there is a problem.
Your beginning thesis is a ‘working thesis’. As you write your first draft of the paper, you will return to and change your thesis to include perhaps another perspective that you might have discovered through research. The thesis in your final paper will be that polished and finished statement or statements that are all-inclusive and synthesize the various sub-issues or perspectives covered in the paper.
The following questions/points may be helpful to you in developing your analysis.
What is the main issue?
Define any specific vocabulary needed to understand this issue.
Identify all possible positions on the issue. Which two are the key opposing sides?
Find all of the facts that support one position.
Find all of the facts that support the opposing position.
What beliefs/values are in conflict in this issue?
Take a position on the issue. Explain why you chose this position.
How could you influence others to support your position?
What steps did you use to analyze this issue?
Analysis of Perspectives/Sub-Issues/Stakeholders
In your research, you will need to find articles, both scholarly and mainstream press, which support any claim you make. You will use this research to build a framework in your paper that analyzes the views of various perspectives/sub-issues/stakeholders within the larger issue. You will also examine the justifications made by these groups. Your analysis should be sophisticated. It should not only see two sides of an issue but also multiple parts of the larger situation, while carefully examining or analyzing each part.
Organization
Your essay should follow a clear organization plan that is logical and easy for the reader to understand. The thesis statement should give the readers a sense of this plan. Sentences and paragraphs should be coherent and focused, and transitions should help the essay to flow clearly.
Analysis
Synthesis/Thesis
Organization
Research (use of sources, integrating sources, etc.)
Conventions (style, grammar, etc.)
Instructions
Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
This assignment is the final paper you will present to the Committee of the Senate.
Review Chapters 1-19 in Changing the U.S. Health Care System: Key Issues in Health Services Policy and Management.
Consider the previous submissions and feedback received from prior workshops.
Using a proper APA layout, citations, and references page, submit the final draft of the Issue Analysis.
When you’ve completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor using the Assignment submission page by the end of the workshop.
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Issue Analysis
You a Senior Executive for the advocacy organization MAAF. The U.S. Senate is taking up an
issue of important to MAAF and its members. The Senate referred the issue to Committee,
which will hear testimony in five weeks. The Senate Committee is giving MAAF and you as
their representative, the opportunity to testify regarding this issue.
You must prepare a written Issue Analysis paper and present the analysis to a Senate SubCommittee. Additionally, you will testify before the Sub-Committee.
Recording the testimony is important as some members of the Sub-Committee have conflicting
schedules. Therefore, you will prepare a 10-15 minute presentation with narration of your
testimony. This is not a PowerPoint presentation, though PowerPoint may be used, but rather a
video of your testimony. As the organization’s sole representative, you must present yourself in
a professional manner. Be aware of the Sub-Committee’s perception of the way your present
yourself, manner and tone of speech, use of good grammar, etc.
The written Issues Analysis paper is 7-10 pages in length and adheres to the APA formatting
guidelines. In the paper, you present a more detailed analysis than is included in the presentation
to the Sub-Committee. The Senators receive the paper at the time of the presentation and are
then able to return to its contents for additional consideration of the issue.
The goal of the testimony and paper is to ensure the Senators’ support for your issue. By
presenting effective communication, both written and oral, you are making an effort to influence
their position.
As a Christian organization, you are expected to use biblical/Christian virtues in your
presentation and/or written document. Given the audience, it is better to utilize virtues consistent
with Scripture rather than the Scripture itself. However, you should include the Scripture
reference as an in-text citation. It does not need to be on the reference page of the written
document.
This issue is very important to MAAF and its membership. Your performance on this
assignment will play a key role in their assessment of your competency and future promotions.
The organization uses the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) competency
assessment tool in their evaluations. You note this project will address your level of
achievement of the following competencies:
1.
B.
Communication and Relationship Management
Communication Skills
1.
Public relations
2.
Principles of communication and their specific applications
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3.
2.
A.
3.
A.
B.
C.
Sensitivity to what is correct behavior when communicating with diverse
cultures, internal and external
4.
Identify and use human and technical resources to develop and deliver
communications
5.
Prepare and deliver business communications, including meeting agendas,
presentations, business reports and project communication plans
6.
Use factual data to produce and deliver credible and understandable
reports
Leadership
Leadership skills and behavior
5.
Champion solutions and encourage decision- making.
11.
Advocate and participate in healthcare policy initiatives.
Professionalism
Personal and professional accountability
4.
Organizational business and professional ethics
Professional development and life-long learning
1.
Professional norms and behaviors
4.
Time and stress management techniques
Contributions to the Community and Profession
5.
Advocate for patients, families and communities
For this assignment, the following guidelines apply.
1. The audience is important. Make sure to consider this in your writing, the presentation,
and your form of address to the audience.
2. MAAF is a made-up acronym. If you want to be creative, you can make it stand for
something appropriate to your issue. You also can change the acronym but be consistent.
3. You must choose from one of the following issues:
a. To reduce gun violence, background checks for firearms must include the
individual’s psychiatric health history.
b. To reduce healthcare costs at end of life, banning expensive medical technology
for those who state they do not want to live. (Right to die.)
c. To improve healthcare quality, consumer directed healthcare practices are
required.
d. To manage healthcare costs, move to free market competition in health insurance
markets. (Deregulation.)
e. To reduce healthcare costs, requiring physically/mentally able Medicaid
recipients under the age of 65 to seek employment, gain employment, volunteer,
or further their education in order to continue benefits.
f. To improve life expectancy, providing health insurance as an incentive for organ
donation.
4. The presentation may use PowerPoint, Prezi, YouTube or any other presentation
modality to support your testimony, as long as the instructor may access it.
5. The presentation can be no longer than 15 minutes and no shorter than 10 minutes.
6. You are expected to use Christian/biblical virtues in your presentation and/or written
document. It is better to utilize virtues consistent with Scripture rather than the Scripture
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itself. This demonstrates your understanding of the role these virtues play outside the
context of Scripture. You should include the Scripture reference as an in-text citation. It
does not need to be on the reference page of the written document.
7. Review the attached guidance on developing an Issue Analysis.
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ISSUE ANALYSIS GUIDANCE
Opportunities for analyzing issues, problems or situations are found in every discipline,
workplace and real-life situations. As a healthcare administrator, you will be called upon to
think about, closely examine and often write documents that analyze in order to understand
complicated issues in our professions or lives.
An issue analysis looks at an issue from two or more points of view, and then develops a
reasoned response. Factual material is used in support of opinions.
In this issue analysis, you will write a well-researched analytical report that examines, explains
and analyzes an issue – with multiple, possibly conflicting perspectives. Your report will include
background information that readers need in order to understand the issue. Additionally, it will
contain an analysis of the opinions of various stakeholders and subtopics of the larger issue.
Your goal is to write a coherent, sophisticated analysis that will engage and inform your readers.
Thesis Statement
Your thesis statement is centered on an inclusive sentence or sentences that provide an overview
for the reader and predicts the content of your paper. If your issue is the use of prescription drug
abuse, for example, your thesis should address the various stakeholders’ perspectives in this
issue and be clear, specific and focused. You will want to synthesize the various components of
this problem and analyze how the various articles you research are arguing the solution to the
problem or why there is a problem.
Your beginning thesis is a ‘working thesis’. As you write your first draft of the paper, you will
return to and change your thesis to include perhaps another perspective that you might have
discovered through research. The thesis in your final paper will be that polished and finished
statement or statements that are all-inclusive and synthesize the various sub-issues or
perspectives covered in the paper.
The following questions/points may be helpful to you in developing your analysis.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
What is the main issue?
Define any specific vocabulary needed to understand this issue.
Identify all possible positions on the issue. Which two are the key opposing sides?
Find all of the facts that support one position.
Find all of the facts that support the opposing position.
What beliefs/values are in conflict in this issue?
Take a position on the issue. Explain why you chose this position.
How could you influence others to support your position?
What steps did you use to analyze this issue?
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Analysis of Perspectives/Sub-Issues/Stakeholders
In your research, you will need to find articles, both scholarly and mainstream press, which
support any claim you make. You will use this research to build a framework in your paper that
analyzes the views of various perspectives/sub- issues/stakeholders within the larger issue. You
will also examine the justifications make by these groups. Your analysis should be sophisticated.
It should not only see two sides of an issue, but also multiple parts of the larger situation, while
carefully examining or analyzing each part.
Organization
Your essay should follow a clear organization plan that is logical and easy for the reader to
understand. The thesis statement should give the readers a sense of this plan. Sentences and
paragraphs should be coherent and focused, and transitions should help the essay to flow clearly.
Research, Support or Evidence:
You will need to back up each claim you make within the analysis. Use your sources to build
credibility and gain authority to speak as a writer on the topic. Your aim is to persuade the
audience of your deeper understanding of the issue, thus you must use credible sources to back
up everything you say. You can use your knowledge of ethical, emotional or logical appeals to
analyze what various groups write about their role in the problem. You will want to avoid
logical fallacies within your own writing. You will use both direct quotes and paraphrases and
cite sources correctly according to APA citation guidelines.
Your ten (10) references should be credible with 7-8 coming from scholarly sources. You can
also use respected news sources; however, these are not scholarly and will not count toward the
7-8. You should show that you are able to evaluate the credibility in the selection of your
sources. Selected information should be relevant to the central argument and quoted or
paraphrased correctly to support each claim. Direct quotations should make-up no more than
10% of your paper. They should be well integrated into developed paragraphs and not just
dropped in but also contextualized. Therefore, each quote or paraphrase should back up or
provide some support for your ideas/analysis.
Formatting
•
•
•
Include an interesting and descriptive title that clearly announces the issue you are
analyzing.
Must be 7 to 10 pages in length not including title and reference pages and any
appendices.
Follow APA formatting guidelines.
Grading
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Your paper will be graded on the following:
•
•
•
•
•
Analysis
Synthesis/Thesis
Organization
Research (use of sources, integrating sources, etc.)
Conventions (style, grammar, etc.)
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Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
