Slideshow

I'm going to do my slideshow on why preventative care is important. I'm going to talk about diabetes, syphilis, cervical cancer, and testicular cancer.

First, diabetes will be covered because it is very common and many people don't know how bad it can get without the disease being diagnosed and treated. [how to prevent getting it later in life]

Second, cervical cancer is preventable by receiving the gardasil shot (only two types of the virus), which is covered by most insurance and will have to be covered under the ACA. Also yearly pap smears help in finding any irregular cells early on instead of in more advanced stages of the cancer. [the shot also helps prevent to types of genital warts diseases]

Third, syphilis is a treatable bacterial STI. If it goes untreated, syphilis can damage many parts of the body and can lead to mental illness.

Last, testicular cancer



Wellness checks, even if healthy, are worth while. why it's important for these screenings.
Talk about the costs (emotional and monetary) if not found early.

Interview Protocol

I would like to interview John Holahan and Gerald F. Kominski, Ph.D. I would like to ask two different people the same questions, because some of the questions are more opinion based and I would like more than one view point. John Holahan is the Director of the Health Policy Research Center at The Urban Institute. Much of his research has focused on state health policy, including Medicaid and issues of federalism and health. These include analyses of the recent growth in Medicaid expenditures and the implications of block grants and changes in matching formulas on states. He has also published on strategies for Medicaid reform. He has developed proposals for health system reform, most recently in Massachusetts. He has also published research on the reasons for the growth in the uninsured over the past decade and on the effects of proposals to expand health insurance coverage on the number of uninsured and the cost to federal and state governments. Gerald F. Kominski, Ph.D. is a Professor of Health Services in the UCLA School of Public Health. He also serves as Director of Health Economics and Evaluation Research (HEER) Program at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Dr. Kominski teaches classes in research methods, health economics, cost-effectiveness analysis, and health policy. His research focuses on evaluating the costs and cost-effectiveness of health care programs and technologies; improving access and health outcomes among ethnic and vulnerable populations; and developing models for forecasting population health. Dr. Kominski received his Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School in 1985. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA in 1989, he served as a staff member of the agency now known as the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). He is co-editor of the widely used textbook, Changing the U.S. Health Care System: Key Issues in Health Services Policy and Management, which was published in its 3rd edition in 2007. 

This interview is needed, because of a school research project and I would like to gain better knowledge on question that did not have an obvious answer. I would like the view point of a professional personally, instead of just through articles. I will conduct the interview through e-mail contacts or a phone call. So the interview will not be in-person. I hope to learn more in depth complexities about the Affordable Care Act affects the population on a more infrastructural level. The following questions are what I will ask Holahan and Kominski in the interviews. What will happen to young adults whose parents do not have insurance  but are also full-time students? Since so many people will become covered by insurance, how will the health system compensate? Would it be better to go to Urgent Care/Emergency Room or to a family doctor? On the topic of Medicaid expansion, how will the states compensate for the 7% they will have to cover, if they approve the expansion? Is the Affordable Care Act likely to be a long-term revision of the health care system, or is it just a building block to something else? If it is long term, what is the projection for 10 to 30 years from now?

Field Research Questions

 Field Research

• What do I still need to know about my topic to successfully support my main idea?

I could use more information regarding the insurance exchanges.

• Who might be able to offer me that information in an interview?

I'm not certain who would be able to help me obtain more information.

 

• Why would that person be considered an expert in the field?

 

• What 3 questions can I ask this expert to elicit the information I need to support my main idea in the webtext?

1.

2.

3.

 

• What is my next step to accomplish this field research?

 

Midterm

From the beginning of the project, I was uncertain on a topic to choose. Once the topic was decided though, I was able to easily decide on the rest of the rhetorical choices. With the topic of health care for young adults in the United States, I was able to easily decide on different rhetorical aspects. My decisions pertaining to visual aspects, audience, tone, and language all came together to create a webtext that was easy to read, clear, concise, and informative.

When it came to deciding a topic, I was uncertain of what I wanted to look into and research. Many things pertaining to the medical field and social issues do not interest me. When I heard about topics being able to be related to health care, I thought of the ObamaCare issue that is going on in the United States. This topic seemed interesting to me, so I did some research. I was able to find a lot of information on how the Affordable Care Act targeted women needs and preventative care, along with that of young adults. I felt the women’s topic may not be enough for a full project on it, so I choose the young adults.

The choice of target audience was very simple for me. Because my topic centered around one very specific demographic, I was able to easily choose an audience. My audience is those between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six. This age range contains those considered “young adults”. Once I had my audience, I was able to easily set the language of the webtext to a very simple word choice with minimal jargon. By the use of this language, I was able to set the tone as informative and easy to understand. I also added personal references and opinions which made the webtext personal and subjective.

When it came to making the visuals of the website, I knew very quickly what I wanted my site to look like. Because my topic centers on the United States, I decided to use red, white, and blue, along with our national flag. This made is very clear to anyone looking at the site that the topic pertained to the United States. The font I used was a very plain font that is clearly legible to anyone. The color choice of the font, dark blue, is very contrasting against the white background, making it even easier to read.

When I choose images to use in the webtext, I decided to go with basic images that were representative of specific parts of my topic. The first image that I used shows President Obama's signature on the Affordable Care Act and the date of when the act was first approved and when it was upheld by the Supreme Court. The second image was a visual representation of Medicare which is a big part of how young adults can gain access to health care in the future. The Medicare expansion was also a huge part of the debate between the States and how they felt about the Affordable Care Act.

In conclusion, once my topic was decided, the rest of the rhetorical choices were very simple for me. 

Podcast Idea

For my podcast, I was thinking about covering the basic care that women will be able to have thanks to Obamacare. These basic coverage will include yearly pap smears; STI, STD, and HIV tests and counseling; insurance coverage for contraceptives and counseling; screening for gestational diabetes; testing for HPV; breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling; and screening and counseling for domestic and interpersonal violence. Thanks to these being necessities insurance providers must cover, women's overall health will increase. Women will be able to get basic aid that they will need along with counseling for any diseases or infections they may have.
For women who become pregnant, they will be able to receive tests for gestational diabetes which can cause issues during pregnancy. After giving birth, women can receive aid for breast feeding. They will receive training on how to best breast feed along with any necessary items.