Gender and Health Action Brief

Gender and Health Action Brief

Gender and Health Action Brief

Gender and Health Action Brief HEA 433 FINAL PRODUCT The goal of this Action Brief is for you to explore a topic related to gender and health/wellness from multiple perspectives and use what you learned as a foundation to advocate for policies, services or practices (at any level of the social ecological model) to reduce gender inequities and improve health/wellness related to your topic area. This type of document is often referred to as a policy brief; however, I’m using the term Action Brief. The assignment engages you in learning about an issue and to accurately identify the gender, wellness, policy, political, political, clinical, and/or public health issues that are central to that topic. You are to craft a recommendation that you believe will improve gender equity, reduce inequities and/or improve health and wellbeing, as it relates to the topic under study, that is grounded in multiple perspectives. You are bringing at least 4 different perspectives writing this brief: 1. Interview someone (Person 1) who has experienced the issue under study. You want to learn from this person (a) about their life experiences, concerns and needs, (b) what their experiences tell you about the connections between gender and health; and (c) their ideas about what we can do in our society to improve the lives/wellness of people such as the person you interviewed. 2. Interview someone (Person 2) who works in the field, in a community setting or with an organization seeking to address the issue under study there by this improving the lives and/or wellness of people in a way that is connected the life experiences, needs and concerns of Person 1. You will need to provide the name, affiliation and contact information for Person 2. You need to conduct this interview second so that you can learn from Person 1 experiences first; you want to to be sure you understand the person’s experiences before you talk to someone about strategies for response. 3. Identify studies from the scientific literature (at least 2) 4. Websites, videos, or other online content of quality related to the topic under study. (at least 4) Action briefs are tools for presenting research and recommendations to a non-specialized audience. They serve as a vehicle for providing evidence-based policy, programmatic, clinical or public health 1 recommendations for change. A strong brief distills research findings in plain language and draws clear links to policy initiatives. The best briefs are clear and concise stand-alone documents that focus on a single topic. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to writing briefs because the topic and audience will shape each one. However, effective briefs tend to contain the same key elements and therefore have similar structures: an executive summary, an introduction, an overview of the research or problem, an examination of the findings, and a concluding section that explains the policy recommendations and implications of the research. Some instructions: 1. You want to start with, but not be limited to, the life experiences of Person 1. For example, it is important to understand the needs of the person you interviewed and to learn from them and from Person 2 about existing or ideal services/policies that are designed to respond to what that person needs. However, you don’t want to be limited by Person 1’s experiences; they are, after all, just one person of many in a similar situation. Person’s 1 experiences are illustrative and important but unique; one person cannot represent the universe of people with similar life experience; one person’s experiences with mothering is not everyone’s experiences. However, since I’m only asking you to interview one person you are limited to what you have; Person’s 1 experience therefore is a primary source for developing your action brief. I encourage you to really let that person talk and gather rich information. 2. In writing your brief you want to provide real details that can help the reader understand the person’s life; use some direct quotes from the interviews as this add richness and detail. 3. The final page count for the policy brief assignment is 5 pages minimum, 7 pages double spaced maximum, 12 point, Times New Roman font, 1’’ margins, double-spaced, with page numbers included, and your name listed on your paper. 4. Use plain and simple language. Do not use jargon or long complex sentences. Write for someone who does not know much about your topic. 5. You can write bullet points when appropriate. Timeline: 1. By or before Sunday Oct 24 at 11:15 pm send me your proposed topic and your plan for your two interviews. You don’t need to have identified the names of the people, but you need to have a sound plan and a strong belief that you can find and interview them. I need to approve this. 2. The FINAL advocacy brief is due Monday November 29th at 11:59pm 3. When you submit this use WORD. 2 Examples of a topics and people you could interview: Make sure that 1 and 2 are connected to each other and that you can connect the story lines to one or more of the gendered pathways to health and wellness. Person 1 A teen mother who wants to breastfeed and return to high school but finds breastfeeding too challenging to continue A working parent who has struggled to provide quality childcare/navigate work and parenting and how this may have affected her health or her child’s health A widow/widower to explore the challenges (benefits) of aging Someone who needs daily care from a caregiver A person who is a caregiver to an elderly parent or disabled child Some who has had difficulty accessing care for some reason (culture accessibility, resources, health insurance; stigma, shame, fear) and its impact on their health/wellness Someone who a chronic disease and explore resilience and care options Person 2 Someone who works with teen mothers Someone who provides childcare or a employer who seeks to provide childcare or benefits to help parents navigate work and parenting, or seeks to improve policies or and practices for them A person who works with/provides services to the elderly or seeks to improve policies or and practices for them A person who is a caregiver to someone like the person you interviewed. Someone who provides services to caregivers or seeks to improve policies or and practices for them Someone who seeks to improve health access or health equity or seeks to improve policies or and practices for them Someone who provides care or services to a person with this illness/support group or seeks to improve policies or and practices for them Someone whose health or life circumstance has Someone who provides care or services to led to some stigma or has made them vulnerable someone like the person you in our society how they have navigated this, and interviewed/support group, works on health its impact on health and wellness (e.g a person 3 with a gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, race, disability, or other life circumstance that is non-dominant in our society). equity as related to this area, or seeks to improve policies or and practices for them. A person at midlife who is questioning their roles, purpose in life or spirituality Someone who might work with someone seeking a new way forward (life coach, therapist, minister, spiritual director) Someone who has experienced violence (it is Someone who provides services or care to people required that this person is now safe and living a who have experienced this form of violence/runs life free from violence). a support group or or seeks to improve policies or and practices for them or works in violence prevention. A person seeking treatment or care for an issue Someone who conducts research on or provides about which little is known (not including care on this issue someone who is in a clinical trial) Someone who lives or works in an environment Someone who seeks to improve that has been unhealthy for them working/living/housing conditions related to your person’s experiences or seeks to improve policies or and practices for them Some people have quit their job recently because Interview someone who is an employer who has they have found it to be unhealthy; you can had a hard time finding workers interview someone who has done this Example 4 For this example, we will consider how to make it possible for teen mothers to breastfeed. 1. Step 1: Interview a teen mother, preferably one who wanted to breastfeed. To understand the experiences and needs of teen mothers please refer to the reading by Chambers and Smith in Module 10. This paper reports findings from a study I conducted; so for purposes of this example, lets imagine that this paper is a substitute for the in-person interview. 2. Step 2: you want to understand what teen mothers need to breastfeed. In this paper we describe their experiences and the factors that shaped their ability to breastfeed using a classic public health approach: we looked at the structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors. For example, we learn: that they need more support from schools and teachers; that their friends think breastfeeding is disgusting so that makes it hard; that often their parents and the baby’s father are also not supportive of breastfeeding. We also learn that support from WIC staff and lactation consultants in hospitals can help them be more successful. 3. Step 3: Identify a variety of changes that could potentially improve the experiences of teen mothers. Based on what we learned in Step 2, there are any number of possible recommendations: provide education to teachers and principals to destigmatize breastfeeding and promote development of lactation spaces; incorporate; provide breastfeeding education to adults that are significant in the lives of teen mothers (e.g., their mother, aunt, grandmother, siblings, child’s father); develop support groups for breastfeeding teen mothers in community settings (e.g., YWCA); provide education to hospital-based lactation consultants to enhance their understanding of the challenges facing teen mothers. After identifying a variety of options for what you can do, select one strategy to explore in your brief. 4. Step 4: Conduct your second interview so that you learn more about the specific strategy you selected in Step 3. Let’s assume that we decided that we wanted to provide breastfeeding education to adults that are significant in the lives of teen mothers (e.g, their mother, aunt, grandmother, siblings, child’s father). To that end, you might want to interview someone who provide classes and education to pregnant and parenting teens to learn more; as a result of your interview you might also find your ideas changing (that is okay). 5. Step 5: Learn more about your proposed strategy. You might do this by reviewing the literature and searching online for quality recourses. 6. Step 6: Write your brief. You may need to review the literature/websites to learn to help you write your Background and Significance Section: why is breastfeeding important, what do we know about the breastfeeding practices and experiences of teen mothers. You want to draw from your interview with Person 1 to really enrich this section: this is the type of 5 information you find at the beginning of the Chambers and Smith article and in the results section. To write the sections on the Current Situation and Recommendations you can draw from both interviews and also what you learn from your other research. You want to make sure that your recommendations are directly related to what you learn from Person 2. 7. Examples of good resources: a. https://www.nichq.org/insight/building-resiliency-teen-moms-can-improvebreastfeeding-and-save-babies b. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3565878/ c. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/189875 d. http://californiabreastfeeding.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/BF-Teens-CA-BFSummit.pdf e. https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-0160880-5 f. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3400246/ g. https://www.customizedinc.com/blog/september-2017/embedding-breastfeedingeducation-into-a-grandpare h. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4282396/ i. https://blackmothersbreastfeeding.org/ Template • To write your policy brief use the template provided on p. 6-7. • See examples: https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/our-work/policy-briefs/ Grading Rubric Criteria Title Proposed Recommendation Background Points 0 3 3 6 A personal story Current situation Facts and Figures What will change Methodology References Total: this is worth 20 points 3 3 3 3 1 1 20 7 USE A TEMPLATE THAT IS SIMILAR TO THIS FOR BOTH PAGES OF YOUR BRIEF. You need to use 2 and only 2 pages and complete all the sections. TITLE OF YOUR POLICY BRIEF—capture our attention YOUR NAME BACKGROUND PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION In this section write a brief explanation of the This section offers a summary of your problem; why it’s important and the problems. recommendation and why its important. You want to refer to some data/science from class, the literature and/or other credible sources/websites. You need to convince the reader that there is really a problem in a few sentences. 8 A PERSONAL STORY In this section you describe the “story” (experiences) of Person 1 you interviewed who has the issue at hand. This needs to connect to BACKGRROUND and to the RECOMMENDATION you mention in the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Since this is a brief summary, it needs to be WELL ORGANIZED, WELL WRITTEN AND REALLY TELL THE STORY YOU WANT TO TELL. I EXPECT ACTUAL QUOTES. CURRENT SITUATION This section discusses what you learned from Person 2. should really help the reader understand the gaps in policy/cares/services/ practices: What is being done and what is left undone? We need to know that the problem you described in the introduction is still a problem that needs a remedy. It will help you if you are able to able to connect the dots using one of the pathways, theories, frameworks that we have discussed in class. YOU NEED TO IDENTIFY A GAP THAT MAKES YOUR RECOMMENDATION CREDIBLE. I EXPECT Since this is a brief summary, it needs to be WELL ORGANIZED, WELL WRITTEN AND REALLY TELL THE STORY YOU WANT TO TELL TO TELL. I EXPECT TO SEE ACTUAL QUOTES. YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE SOME PHOTOS HERE 9 FACTS AND FIGURES In this section provide actual data, extends what you discussed in BACKGROUND. YOU WANT TO PROIVDE FACTS AND FIGURES THAT CONFIRM PERSON 1 STORY AND THAT JUSTIFY YOUR RECOMMENDATION. You can use bullet points. WHAT WILL CHANGE In this section you write about what changes we might expect if we follow your recommendation. What will improve and why? It will help here if you are able to connect the dots using one of the pathways, theories, frameworks that we have discussed in class. You can use bullet points. METHODOLOGY In this section you describe your interview methods, who you interviewed, why, how you did the interview and how long it lasted. You can use a fake name for Person 1 but use the real name and affiliation for Person 2. REFERENCES AND RESOURCES List the references you used: these will provide credible resources to anyone who wants to learn more. 10

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