HCA 402: Term Paper Guidelines

Healthcare 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

Saint Leo Core Value

Integration/Evaluation Mold &

mildew

• Mosquito-borne diseases

• Methicillin-resistant

Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

• Nitrates in well-water

• Nuclear power plants

• Occupational contaminants

• Occupational disease and injury

reporting

• 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)

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.

Submit the Final Term Paper to Chalk and Wire using the link in the Module 7 folder.

Students who do not submit the assignment to Chalk and Wire will receive a zero. This is a

key program assessment; the results are used to ensure students are meeting program

goals. Video and PDF instructions can be found on the course home page. PDF instructions

are also located in the Start Here folder.