HCM 530: Term Paper Guidelines
Health care is a multidisciplinary field, e.g., there are primary care physicians, specialists,
nurses, technicians, pharmacists, administrators, and others. They all work together as a single
unit for common goals…”safe and quality in patient care.”
Public health is no different. Public health is also a multidisciplinary field composed of
epidemiologists, environmentalists, biostatisticians, behavioral scientists, and/or health
educators. Public health also includes specialists in clinical research, chronic disease, infectious
disease, emergency medical services, food safety, global emergency preparedness, and
response professionals. Some public health specialists focus on health disparities,
international/global health, laboratory practices, maternal and child health concerns, women’s
health, mental health, nutrition/dietetics, occupational health and safety, and toxicology.
Finally, there are public health officials that focus on the economics or finance, of public health
and communities, in addition to public health laws and public health policies. You Decide!
For your class term paper, choose a public health topic or public health profession that most
interests you. Research your topic and show how your topic or profession chosen is integrated
and/or has a positive effect on populations and community health. Example topics would be,
Environmental: Recycling Waste, or Chronic Disease: Risk Factors and Prevention, or
Biostatisticians’ Effect on Positive Social Change…or any other that relates to this class.
Term Paper Topics
You do not have to use one of these topics. If you choose a topic that is not on this list, email it
to the Professor for approval to ensure it is appropriate for the course. ? AIDS ? Air quality, indoor
? Ammonia
? Anthrax
? Arboviruses
? Arsenic
? Asbestos
? Asphalt
? Avian Flu
? Biological Agents Registry
? Biological indoor contaminants
? Bioterrorism
? Blue-green algae
? Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE)
? Carbon Monoxide
? CCA-treated wood
? Chemical exposure
? Chlorine
? Communicable Disease Control
? Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
? DEET
? Dioxins
? Dusty Trades (asbestos, silica)? Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE)
? e-Cycling
? Environmental contaminants
(example Oil Spills)
? Fish consumption advisories
? Fish kills
? Fish, contaminants in
? Floods – Health, Safety, Cleanup
? Flu (Seasonal)
? Formaldehyde
? Harmful Algal Blooms
? Hazardous Substances Emergency
Events Surveillance (HSEES)
? Health Hazards Control
? Hepatitis
? HIV/AIDS
? Hydrochloric Acid
? Indoor air pollutants
? Infection control measures
? Influenza Sentinel Surveillance
Program
? Insect repellant safety
? Intensive Livestock Operations
? KI (potassium iodide) (DHHS Web
Site)
? Kid’s pages: Rabies (DHHS Web Site)
? La Crosse encephalitis (LAC)
? Lead
? Mad Cow disease
? Mercury in fish
? Methamphetamine Labs
? Mold & mildew
? Mosquito-borne diseases
? Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA)
? Nitrates in well-water
? Nuclear power plants
? Occupational contaminants
? Occupational disease and injury
reporting

Discussion: Health care a Multidisciplinary Field

Discussion: Health care a Multidisciplinary Field
? Occupational Surveillance
? Ozone
? Pesticides
? Pfiesteria
? Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
? Potassium Iodide Program (DPH
Web Site)
? Public Health Preparedness and
Response
? Rabies
? Rabies: kids’ pages (DHHS Web Site)
? Radon
? Salisbury asphalt plant studies
? Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS)
? Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
? Silica
? Smallpox
? Tick-borne Illness
? Tuberculosis
? West Nile virus (WNV) Saint Leo Core Value Integration/Evaluation
In about 250 words, following the conclusion of your paper, apply the Saint Leo University core
value of excellence in a brief proposal for a community health improvement initiative to turn a
negative into positive regarding your chosen topic. For example, this could be an advertising
campaign promoting the usage of insect repellant while outdoors. Incorporate at least one additional reference above and beyond the textbook, and cite both the textbook and your
external reference(s) using APA style. Term Paper Rubric
Component Requirement Cover Page APA Cover Page (Title, Name, Date, Class, Instructor). Quality of
Content
Approximate
Weighted
Value:
(60%) The final term paper is 10-15 pages in length, not including cover and
reference page. The paper will consist of concise examinations of a specific
topic relative to the course content. Term papers should demonstrate a
synthesis and integration of public health and the specific chosen topic
concepts correctly and in an innovative way. Saint Leo Core
Value
(10%)
At least 250 words of the total length of the paper is devoted to the
application of the Saint Leo core value of excellence on your chosen topic
through the creation of a community health improvement initiative
proposal.Technical
Writing

Discussion: Health care a Multidisciplinary Field

Discussion: Health care a Multidisciplinary Field
(20%)
Proper writing mechanics, paraphrasing, use of quotations, proper
grammar, spell check, and transitioning between subsections. Writing
should be original, well paraphrased, and properly cited. APA Paper
Formatting
(5%)
APA formatting is doubled-spaced, 1” margins, using proper headings and
subheadings, with proper source citations on all statistics, numbers,
concepts, or graphics borrowed from another author. Reference
Quality
(5%)
A minimum of 5-primary or quality secondary sources that are dated, by
reliable authors, or organizations. Proper references must include the
author/organization, year published, title, and publication source as
appropriate in APA. The reader should be able to easily find that primary
source references used. Paper
Submission
All students will submit their papers to the course Dropbox. The Dropbox is
integrated with Turnitin. Please read the Academic Honesty policy. A
plagiarized document will result in a minimum penalty of an “F” for the
paper (zero points).
Timeliness Papers will be due 11:59 PM Sunday EST/EDT in Module 7. Late work may
cost up to (-5%) of total points earned******MUST BE ORIGINAL!!!!*********

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.