Module 1
February 4, 2015

1.) General subject matter: race and healthcare/overall health
2.) Topic: analysis of the ways in which race does or does not impact healthcare and broader health issues
3.) Research Question: Does a person’s race have an impact on their ability to access quality healthcare?
4.) Importance of research question: Access to healthcare can have wide-ranging impacts on people and societies. If people’s access to adequate healthcare is limited due to issues of race, then not only will their overall health be impacted, as well as their quality of life and even their life expectancy, but also societies as a whole may be forced to shoulder the burden of having a portion of the population that is unwell as a secondary, unintended consequence.
5.) Thesis Statement: Race can limit people’s ability to access quality healthcare, thereby having an impact on the overall health and well-being of certain racial groups.
6.) Outline Part I:
• Statistics on overall access to health insurance, with a specific focus on trends related to race.
• Statistics on Medicare/Medicade recipients to determine if there is a distinctive pattern in coverage rates broken down by race.
• Research on unique health challenges faced by minorities requiring specified care (ie. rate of breast cancer in African American women).
• Research on percentage of African American healthcare professionals.