GCH 406 George Washington University Mainstream Article Briefs Presentation
Students will select and read over the duration of the course an article (totaling 10 articles) published by a mainstream, respected, popular press or selected publications, such as these approved sources: The Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Hindustan Times, Newsweek, Deutsche Welle, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nigeria Health Watch, The Guardian, US News & World Report, The Atlantic, Science, South China Morning Post, IRIN, VOX, Wired, The Daily Grind, or online sources, e.g. Al Jazeera, Huffington Post, BBC, NPR, ABC, CBC Public Radio International.
Students will put together a weekly brief on each of articles (10 points each) in PowerPoint format
Do a thoughtful and thorough search on the internet for these articles. This may take some time. Stay away from blogs, opinion editorials, peer review journals, and organizational newsletters for this assignment.
Articles must be global in intent. That is, if possible, it can’t only be about the United States or high-income countries but must link data and information with what is going on in middle- and lower-income countries.
The following are NOT ACCEPTABLE, without prior approval from the professor:
- Any article published before January 1, 2018
- Any article or text from Wikipedia, blogs, peer reviewed journals, opinion pieces or opinion editorials (e.g., Op Eds), organization websites or newsletters
- Any article from a source that is NOT mentioned above. Easy rule of thumb: if it’s not listed in the list above, don’t use it. If you’re not sure if it’s a blog or an opinion piece or a proper source, please seek my review and pre-approval.
- Any article or text less than 400 words.
- Any article or text without evidence-based information, e.g., population data (demographic/household and/or health behavior data; health outcomes) and/or baseline-end line program data.
- Submitting the assignment: 1. The complete assignment must be uploaded onto blackboard in two parts: 1) the brief, and 2) a copy of the article you read. 2. When entitling your upload, paraphrase the article’s title in no more than 4 words so readers can tell what the technical topic is, what the geographic focus is, what the issue is. For instance, the article on “Africa Is Suffering A Silent Crisis of Stroke” can be paraphrased, “Stroke.Africa.Crisis”. If you don’t title your upload with a paraphrase, you will lose one point.
The brief:
Use a “PowerPoint” format. The content of brief should be written in the student’s own words. That is, be concise, crisp in your use of statements and data. Use a combination of prose and bullet points. Add charts and pictures from the article or other sources accordingly to emphasize what you want to convey (don’t forget in-text citations). Use no more than 15 PPT slides not including the cover slide and reference slide. Organize them according to the format suggested below. You can pick any design style you like for your PPT. Make sure that the text is legible and readable, no smaller than 28-point font.
The brief should include no more than three short quotes from the article reviewed; the quote should be properly cited in the PPT and on the reference slide. If more than three quotes are included in the brief from the article copied, the student will lose one point per additional quote. This does not include quoting data.
The brief should have a cover slide. Please follow the template at the end of this assignment guide. Feel free to put whatever design you want on the cover, if you have the complete, correct information in the specific layout (centered).
The brief should have a final last slide solely devoted to APA style references of any sources, including the article. Hanging indents must be used; “Retrieved from” must precede URLs. 0.50 points will be deducted if the references are not on a separate reference slide. 0.25 points will be deducted each time you are missing a hanging indent or do not use the “Retrieved from” in front of a URL. Please look at the simple APA guidelines and example for this assignment under the Blackboard’s “Assignments”.
Earning points: 10 points each brief
- Cover slide
- The following four items are to be addressed in the brief with headings as follows:
- 2 points: Summary of Issue (use as many slides as you want or need)
- Your summary of the factors the article states which have contributed to this issue/problem, and all the pertinent evidence/data and arguments presented by the article as to why this topic is an important issue/problem and how the author relates the issue to global challenges. If it makes mention of determinants, risk factors, or health behaviors, please mention them.
- 2 points: Summary of Issue (use as many slides as you want or need)
- 3 points: Summary of Resolving Issue (use as many slides as you want or need)
- Your summary of recommendations presented by the article to address issue/resolve problem (what specifically is being done or could be done in prevention, promotion, and treatment), and all the pertinent evidence/data and arguments from the article that supports the recommendations,
- 4 points: Critique of Article (use as many slides as you want or need)
- What is your critique of this article? Guiding questions (answer them with more than “Yes” or “No”): Was the health issue well-articulated? Was there data/evidence and analysis/arguments presented on the importance of the issue and the value of the recommendations? Was it well presented and credible (cited)? Were there counter arguments and data presented? Were there reasons the author gave for picking the recommendations she or he did? Did the article compare those recommendations with other alternatives? Were there costs and payers associated with the recommendations? Did the author explain who would help implement the recommendations, and how the recommendations would be sustained and by whom?
- 1 point: Additional (use as many slides as you want or need)
- Was there anything else you wish the article mentioned or presented?
- Last slide: References
1. Other NCDs
Musculoskeletal, neurological (epilepsy, Parkinson), dental, eye health
2. Disabilities
Vision, hearing loss; physical and cognitive disabilities
3. Aging
Dementia, Alzheimer’s, depression, poverty, abuse
4. Violence
Self-harm; interpersonal violence; collective violence
5. Migrant health, refugees, human trafficking, natural disasters and humanitarian crises
Migrant/refugee health, discrimination, impact on health services
6. Injuries
Traffic injuries, fires, poisoning, drownings
7. Climate change and the environment
Water, air, soil pollution; climate change impact on livelihoods and health
8. Health Care work force; program and technical innovations