Week 1

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Homework Assignment 1 

Due in Week 1 and worth 30 points

Describe a work task, a hobby, or another activity that you regularly do, and sequentially list the various actions you take in order to complete this activity. You will need to repeat this activity at least two times to see if the changes you engage in will assist in reducing the amount of time. Consider the complexity of your list and the amount of steps required to complete the activity. Choose an activity that you complete on a daily basis. 

Please consider the choices below or select one task from personal experience:

Preparing for a jog, workout, or other sports related activity.

Cooking a meal or preparing a sandwich.

Making coffee in the morning.

Cleaning the house.

Washing the car.

Bathing/grooming your dog or cat.

Setting up a grill to BBQ.

Answer the following questions in the space provided below:

1. How many steps did it take you to complete the activity?

2. What time did each step take and how much time was delayed between steps?

3. What was the average time each attempt took? Calculate the average of each repetition. Include your data following the assignment one example provided under Instructor Insights Week 1

4. Differentiate the main actions between doing and improving your activities. Use the textbook to support your explanation. See page 7-9.

5. Determine the overall manner in which variation has affected your activities. Explain what is variation and the importance of the standard deviation in a process? You will need to calculate the standard deviation of each attempt. Include your data and calculation. See page 13-14 to support your answer.

6. Overall, how much time were you able to cut down on when engaging in the same activity while implementing the new changes?

Response #2

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 Respond to at least two of your colleagues* by either supporting or respectfully challenging their explanation on whether there is an evidence base to support the proposed health policy they described.

  

Introduction

The demand for healthcare and the shortage of providers to offer this care, especially in geographically and economically challenged populations, has put a strain on healthcare availability. The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health (CONNECT) Act of 2019 looks to promote access through increased use of telehealth. 

What It Means

Currently, telehealth is limited by geography, billing and reimbursement, and provider restrictions. The CONNECT bill HR 4932, proposes removal of some or all of these stipulations to expand access to care. Specifically, the bill targets Medicare restrictions and lack of coverage to improve access to the elderly and disabled (Wicklund, 2019). 

The Evidence

The evidence to support telehealth expansion has been proven. As discussed by Totten et al., (2016) numerous studies have shown an increase in positive outcomes regarding patient/provider communication, education, and the management of chronic health conditions. Passing of this bill could provide a multitude of benefits to involved parties. 

First and foremost, it would improve access to care for those limited by age, disability, geography, or finances. Improved access to care promotes health prevention and decreases more costly care due to complications associated with delay of treatment. The expansion of telehealth could also reduce the strain placed on providers by the shortage. The bill looks to permit telehealth use by more providers and remove some of the travel and point of origin restrictions. Greater use of telehealth would also encourage better insurance coverage and reimbursement (H.R. 4932, 2019).

Conclusion

With all the changes in healthcare and the concerns over cost and accessibility, the need for legislation to address these issues cannot be ignored. The promotion of telehealth and removal of current restrictions could solve many of these dilemmas. As healthcare providers, we can continue to conduct the research and provide the evidence needed to advocate for legislative change to improve healthcare. 

Research Design Discussions

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Please read.. I attached 4 discussions- Exercise 1, 2, 3, 4  All need to be done on separate page with the this book as the reference.  

Edmonds, W. A., & Kennedy, T. D. (2017). An applied guide to research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (2nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

I also copy the chapter readings so you can have because this professor wrote this book and he knows if we are messing around with content. 

Response #1

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Respond to at least two of your colleagues* by either supporting or respectfully challenging their explanation on whether there is an evidence base to support the proposed health policy they described.

  

So much have been heard about Alzheimers disease and the burden it has on those living with the disease, as well as their families. Alzheimers disease is a chronic, progressive and neurodegenerative type of dementia that has serious effects on daily life. (Alzheimers Association, n.d.). Although aging is a risk factor, however, it is not a normal aspect of aging.  The effects of Alzheimers disease can be challenging for primary caregivers. Being the primary caregiver for my 85 year old father who before his death, suffered Alzheimers disease was overwhelming.

On March 12, 2019, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota introduced S.740, Alzheimers Caregiver Support Act. The bill if passed, will provide grants to train and support caregivers of those living with Alzheimers disease and dementias. The bill was read twice, and has been referred to the committee on health, education, labor and pensions (congress.gov, 2019). 

I strongly believe there is enough evidence in support of this bill. According to Brodaty and Donkin (2009), primary caregivers of people living with Alzheimers disease are referred to as the “invisible second patients”. The negative impacts of being a caregiver include psychological morbidity, social isolation, physical ill-health, and financial hardship.  Many families of patients suffering from Alzheimers disease are ignorant of the diseases prognosis. The slow but steady impending changes in memory and function it causes require extensive amounts of care, time and energy from the caregiver. This therefore, is a reason why this bill is important. The grant from the bill will be used to train, support and perhaps augment for the financial burden the family may experience. 

For those whose loved one is living with Alzheimers, disease, Streater (2016) advised that it is of great importance that you take specific actions early. This action includes becoming as educated and informed as possible about the disease so you always will know what to expect.