Overview
All papers are processed by Turnitin which gives a report on similarity to sources on the internet and use of AI to create the paper.
Citation: I prefer APA format but you can use another if you prefer
The main point is for it to be crystal clear where your citations come from.
You do not need a cover page, keywords, or an abstract.
Goals:
State a main claim that gives an answer to the question.
Show how the claim answers the question in detail
Justify your claim as much as you can.
- Show good understanding of at least one moral theory. Kant, utilitarian, virtue ethics
- Consider and answer opposing views.
- You can use material from the textbook, the slides, the useful links, or your own research
- The better your sources of information, the better. This page might be useful:
- What counts as a scholarly source? | University of Toronto Libraries
- Looks at my advice for paper writing: Advice for paper writing
A grading rubric will be provided. Here is a rough guide.
A grade: 1000+ words of thoughtful work with discussion of one of the papers at the end of the textbook chapters, or an external scholarly source. Textbook is Bioethics principles, issues and cases chapter 13.
Paper question
Read this paper: How Structural Racism Works — Racist Policies as a Root Cause of U.S. Racial Health Inequities | NEJM. (Also available here.) The authors write "Moving beyond individual education and personal insight to change policy and social norms will require the engagement of many institutions, but the medical and public health communities can contribute directly in at least four key areas." (p. 771) Those areas are
the intellectual project of documenting the health impact of racism.
the availability of data that include race and ethnicity must improve.
the medical and public health communities need to turn a lens on themselves, both as individuals and as institutions.
we should acknowledge that structural racism has been challenged, perhaps most successfully, by mass social movements.
Your paper task is to examine this for Suffolk County, NY. The question is: can we find evidence of structural racism in relation to health and health care in Suffolk? Collect evidence and analyze it, or explain and comment on the lack of data available. You can bring in personal experience or that of family and friends if it helps to raise issues. Here are possible issues you might address in investigating this:
The availability of doctors and other health professionals who speak languages other than English, and the quality of translation services available in health care.
The effect of the relatively high incarceration rate for Blacks and Hispanics on health.
Examples of health inequity for people of color. (Here is a discussion of national examples. Are there any stats on local examples?)
How did COVID highlight issues of structural differences between races?
Diet and exercise: what barriers are there to healthy eating and regular exercise?
What measures are being or could be attempted to reduce the problems?