The facilitator must approve each topic to ensure the student has
Question
Integrative Paper Guidelines
The assignments in this course are designed around developing an integrative paper that takes students step-by-step through the research design process. Each week, a section of the paper is completed, leading to the final paper, due at the end of Week 8. The class must work in teams during Week 5 for the purpose of peer-reviewing work submitted in Week 4. The Final Integrative Paper must be 11 to 19 pages, excluding the title page, abstract, and references. The breakdown of the word count is shown below.
Week
Minimum Word Count
Maximum Word Count
3
350
700
4
1,050
1,750
6
1,050
1,750
7
1,050
1,750
8
350
700
Final Paper
3,850
6,650
During the Reading Weeks, each student must choose a health care policy to investigate as part of the integrative project. Students submit their choice to their facilitator by Day 7 of Week 2, as a private message. The facilitator must approve each topic to ensure the student has picked a meaningful policy that integrates with the proposed area.
The following are examples of possible policy issues suitable for the project, though it is not the intent to limit the student’s selection to these examples.
· For acute and emergency care delivered in the hospital setting, one might consider the effects of prospective payment systems on acute and emergency care delivered in the hospital setting?
· For health care coverage plans, one might consider the effects of the Affordable Care Act on Medicare health care coverage options?
· For public health issues, one might consider strategies for delivering effective healthcare in communities characterized by poverty and disease
Numerous health policies have affected health care and have implications for its delivery, options for care, accessibility, cost, and outcomes. The student is encouraged to explore a current policy and delivery area of particular interest to him/her.
This will be an APA-formatted paper that includes the following:
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
Statement of the problem
Purpose of the study
Research questions
History of the policy or legislation
Definition of terms
Literature review
Analysis
Recommendations and conclusions
References
The timeline and detail for the paper are as follows:
· Week 2, Day 7: Send the proposed topic via private message to the facilitator for approval.
· Week 3: In a 350- to 700-word paper, students formulate a research question or problem statement around the topic chosen in Week 2. This must include the background information of the introduction including the statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research question, and history of the policy or legislation.
· Week 4: Complete the introduction section in 1,050 to 1,750 words, which is an expansion of the Week 3 work. This section includes the title page, introduction, and definition of terms. An abstract will be added to the introduction in Week 8.
· Week 5: Complete an annotated bibliography of five to eight peer-reviewed articles related to the topic choice and research question for the Final Integrative Paper. Conduct and submit the peer review for the introduction section completed in Week 4. .
· Week 6: Integrating the articles from the annotated bibliography, complete a 1,050- to 1,750-word Literature Review for the Final Integrative Paper.
Note: When compiling your Literature Review, do not cut and paste the Annotated Bibliography into the integrated paper. Instead, create a cohesive literature review by integrating content from the annotation for each article.
· Week 7: Complete the analysis section of the Final Integrative Paper. The required word length is 1,050 to 1,750 words.
· Week 8: Complete and submit the Final Integrative Paper with a recommendations and conclusions section, and an abstract for the introduction. Students must compile all of the previous sections, addressing peer and facilitator feedback, and add the recommendations and conclusions section of 350 to 700 words. The references must be the final section of the paper.