Geography, income and ethnicity: what roles do they play in health coverage in the United States?
This assignment was created by students at The City College of New York for the Freshman Inquiry Writing Seminar, Web Discourse. Students are researching a social issue in one of four large topics: Urban Life, Public Health, Immigration, and Education. This will result in a final research paper that explores both how the conversations surrounding the issue are enacted and how a CCNY student may enter that conversation in a meaningful way.
The topic above fits into public health because health coverage is key in the overall health of a country- since it will ensure the health of those who can afford, or are offered health insurance. Also, it contributes to the control of other health issues, because it will mean that more people will be able to prevent illnesses. There is a lot of debate today about whether they United States should move into a Universal Health Care System and I think it is important to understand what the two sides of the debate are. Health care affects everyone because it can dictate whether we, or our families will be able to stay healthy in the future. A cancerous growth in someone who is insured can be found at a check up and a life can be saved. A person who cannot go see a doctor as freely will probably not find out until they are in a late stage, and not much can be done to save their lives.
Statistically, there are large disparities throughout the United States in health coverage, where people found in disadvantageous circumstances including geographical factors, minimum wage incomes, and social status determines their health coverage, or lack thereof. As a super power in the world, the United States falls short in terms of the protection of it's citizens health when compared to other countries, that manage to offer coverage for almost all of it's citizens.
I plan to make my audience the people of the United States, specifically those in New York City, because it is important to make other's circumstances known to those of us who fail to think about people who are not in the same situation we are. For example, the health coverage in rural America is not often a topic tackled by the New York Times, and is not a constant concern of city dwellers. I want to make the issue relevant not only to me or my classmates, but to everyone.
I have to figure out what the statistics are among different minorities, not just place them all under the same label. Also, I want to find out if they are all connected. For example, are minorites the most uninsured because they hold most low income jobs and therefore, live in cities where the percentage of uninsure people is high? Or any other connections that may exist among the three. Most importantly though, I want to learn what would change in the United States if they followed other country's examples and if the pros outweigh the cons?
I want to approach this paper with an unbiased view, but it is going to be difficult because I want to make a good argument, not sound like I'm complaining about the system not being fair. I think that I can achieve this by backing up my own ideas with those of experts and numbers.
I think that the doctor I work for will be a useful source because he is in the field and has very different views from mine, so he will be able to open my eyes to other issues that I might not have considered. I would like to interview someone who is in a different state, like a farmer, and see what their experience is with the health care system. I'm not sure how I would do that though.
Comments
Marlen,
Excellent topic choice! My name is Kevin Cardey from Stanford University and I'm in a class that is participating in a similar research project. I have a few ideas for your paper.
I come from a small town called Napa. Napa Valley is located in northern California and is where a lot of California's wine industry is located. The town has a high mexican population. Mexican Americans in Napa work for wineries, mainly picking grapes and maintaining the vineyards. I thought of this when I saw that you were looking at healthcare in rural areas as well as how ethnicity affects healthcare. If this sounds like a good research opportunity to you, you might want to contact a Napa Valley Winery and see what kind of healthcare they provide for their workers and ask other questions along those lines.
In your paper, I would give an example of a European country with excellent healthcare so your reader can compare the USA's healthcare to a more successful healthcare system.
Good luck with your topic! Our healthcare system is in dire need of change and maybe you can figure out what the main problem is. Have fun with it!
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Cardey | October 26, 2009 09:48 AM
Income and ethnicity has everything to do with health coverage in the United States.
1-If your poor and cannot afford health insurance you've had it.
2-If you are not caucasian your health statistics and life span are wrose than if you were.
Posted by: http://www.AVNISH.com | November 10, 2009 04:34 PM
Everyone will always have a different view regarding health care. It's hard to change people's mind.
Posted by: top healthy products | November 16, 2009 02:10 PM