Health and Social Care Essay Assignment

1. Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding of explanations for the distribution of health and differential access to health care in the UK and account for the health and care outcomes of differing social groups.

2.  Demonstrate the following skills and abilities: One-to-one working skills required to work with individual clients within a role play scenario and reflect on and assess your role play performance and one-to-one working skills, identifying ways to improve future practice.

What am I required to do in this assignment?

The first assignment task is to write a 1500-word essay on ONE of the topics given below which relate to issues covered in Part 1 of the teaching programme. You must choose ONE of the following essay titles/topics.

1. Using examples from the UK, discuss the ways in which a person’s socio-economic class and his/her social situation can have an impact of his/her health.

2. Feminists argue that gender stereotyping and medicalisation have historically had a negative impact on women’s health. Discuss.

3. To what extent have constructions of masculinity and gender stereotyping impacted on men’s health?

4. Access to health and social care services in the UK is not equitable. Critically discuss this argument in relation to one of the following: black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, gender, age or disability.

5. Compare and contrast the psychosocial and the biomedical models of health and illness.

6. Discuss in what ways the dying process has been medicalised and commodified in Western societies.

Your essay should include:

·Your chosen title

·An introduction which tells the reader what the aims and objectives of the essay are and an overview of the themes you will be discussing.

·A first paragraph in which you define the key terms used in your essay

·The main body of your essay in paragraph format

·A conclusion where you draw the threads of your discussion together and show how you have addressed your aims and objectives.

You will be expected to draw on parts of at least six sources, only one can be an Internet source and the remaining five should be academic/peer-reviewed sources (that is academic books or academic journals), to support your discussion.  The six is a minimum; students are encouraged to carry out wider reading.

Written expression is an important element of good written communication, so try to write clearly and accurately. Also put yourself in the position of the audience and ask yourself whether someone coming to your work ‘cold’ would be able to follow your train of thought. Proof read your work before handing it in and/or ask a trusted person to read it through for you.       

No more than 5 –10% of the assignment should be in the form of quotations.

You must use the Harvard referencing system to identify the source of all the information used in your assignment. You must reference systematically throughout the work itself and include a reference of the sources cited in your work.  Please pay particular attention secondary referencing in the referencing guidelines. You will find a copy of the latest referencing guidelines on the unit’s BREO site. Also read the section headed ‘Plagiarism and Bad Academic Practice’ in the Assessment and Feedback section of the unit’s BREO site.

Your work must be word processed, double spaced and page numbered. You must also include a word count.

You are reminded that plagiarism of any type will be penalised and result in your work not being marked/failing.

What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)

In order to pass Assessment 1 you will need to:

• Using information drawn from recommended sources, explain how social factors and social divisions impact on the health/healthcare of differing social groups.

• Summarise your findings and argument in an essay format following standard rules of grammar, punctuation, spelling and referencing.

How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?

This assignment should nicely reflect what has been taught in the lectures and tutorials in part one of the lecture programme leading up to submission. In lectures you will be learning about how social factors and social divisions impact on the health/healthcare. It links the guided reading for seminars to the differing essay topics.

You will demonstrate key skills for higher education in relation to academic writing, formatting an essay and referencing accurately and systematically as well as demonstrating an ability to carry out an independent study on your chosen topic relevant to the unit.   This will enable you to apply your academic research and communication skills by linking your learning in lectures to your wider reading on your chosen subject area.