Introduction:
Major Rural Issues in Health Care Reform is an issue in the United States. This creates the need for this proposal as a proposition for planning future research. In the first part of the proposal, there is a description health care issue in rural areas requiring reforms. It will contain an audience analysis, my qualifications and an explanation of the necessity of the research. The next section of the research will consist of methods, limitations, directions, and the time plan of the research. The last section of the thesis will contain the relevance of the study to the audience as an approval request and suggestions regarding the proposal.
Background information
Underinsurance and non-insurance is crucial in rural areas. The composition of rural areas comprises of small business people and the self-employed (Woolhandler and David 719-730). This is a cause for the lack of insurance sponsored by employers and high levels of under-insurance and un-insurance in rural areas compared to urban areas (Linden). There is also a dependency on public healthcare programs of rural area residents. This leaves the burden of tax, credits and medical costs on the residents though there is cost inefficiency and cost ineffectiveness of the tax credits (Sylvia, et al. 28-33).
Problem Statement
The health care problems faced by rural residents are similar in nature like those in urban areas. However, rural residents have unique issues requiring address because of the hardships they create in the lives of the people. The issues of non-insurance and underinsurance are imminent issues, which have disturbed the lives of rural residents for over a decade. This situation makes the need of this research essential to make ways for creating improvements in the situation.
Audience analysis
The audience of this research will be my classmates and professor. The past lessons in the classroom opened up our minds regarding the health care issues affecting the community and the need for health reforms. From the four articles within the classroom, and healthcare reform research, there exists a negative attitude regarding health care situations and visible need for reformation of the system. The audience has an interest in health care reforms since there is a close relation of the reforms on health issues affecting their lives. This is a means of alleviating the problems, which will reduce the burden of healthcare in their lives like dependency on insurance sponsored by employers.
My qualifications
I have economics skills from my high school economics studies in a Chinese high school and from an American college. I have the capacity for conducting research on the issues of rural economic compositions and governmental involvement in healthcare provision for rural residents. There exists a level of tax benefits in rural populations for the reduction of the healthcare burden. My experience in tax practices will help me in doing the research from an informed angle, to come up with means of creating reforms on healthcare for the resolution of the problems and creation of efficiency and effectiveness.
Research Plan:
Research Scope:
Research questions and subtopics:
The research will have two sub categories. The first subtopic of the research will tackle challenges and issues resulting from economic situations because of the small business ownership and self-employment nature of rural residents (Bailey). The second sections of the research will focus on the dependency of rural residence on public healthcare incentives. It will look at the eminent problem of lack of accessibility of healthcare programs by rural residents. The two subtopics will give results for the reality of the healthcare limitations in rural areas and possibly help in coming up with solutions and recommendations for the creation of reforms in the sector. To reach such a point, the question, which will guide the study, will be how effectively and efficiently will healthcare reforms reach rural residents?
Proposed research limitations:
There is little research information on rural healthcare reforms and healthcare issues. The available information focuses on general healthcare issues without express address of unique health issues affecting the rural community. Furthermore, the health issues of the rural community are unique and different from general health issues, and this presents the need for specialized knowledge of the unique rural health care needs for the completion of a resourceful research. In addition, the timing for the research duration limits to next week’s oral presentation of findings making the period for conducting the research limiting for effective exhaustion of facts requiring reforms.
Research Methods:
1. Required information:
• Review of previous research findings from academic articles tackling reform issues in the health care sector.
• Data collection and analysis dependant on dimensions ands scope of the rural health care problems.
2. Sources for information:
• “Lessons for Rural Leaders”. Academic Article. <http://0-web.ebscohost.com.library.utulsa.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=113&sid=f46f23cf-5a35-4f36-b4f3-2cae83daaca1%40sessionmgr110>.
• “The Top Ten Rural Issues for Health Care Reform”, <http://files.cfra.org/pdf/Ten-Rural-Issues-for-Health-Care-Reform.pdf>.
• “What is different about Rural Health Care”, National Rural Health Association. <http://www.ruralhealthweb.org/go/left/about-rural-health/what-s-different-about-rural-health-care>
3. Methods for information sources will also use nonprofit and scholarly sources for the collection of a variety of information regarding issues affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare in rural areas.
Project Timetable:
The research will take a weeks’ time span. It will be a preparation of an oral presentation for the preparation of class next week.
Conclusion:
The health care problems are unique to rural; residents face them daily. Under employment and non-employment are the major issues rural residents. These have no opportunity for dependency on employer provided insurance face. The rural economy is composed of business people and the self-employed with no eligibility of healthcare programs. They depend mostly on public health care programs, which are in limitations and that makes the need for creating reforms necessary. There is need for creation of effective and efficient healthcare systems, which can take into account the unique needs of rural residents. I am seeking an approval; for this research initiative, so that I can develop concrete directions for reforms to promote a direction for developing successful healthcare programs in the United States.
Work Cited
Bailey, Jon M. “The Top Ten Rural Issues for Health Care Reform”. Center for Rural Affairs.
March, 2009. Feb. 05, 2010. <http://files.cfra.org/pdf/Ten-Rural-Issues-for-Health-Care-Reform.pdf>.
“What is Different about Rural Health Care”. National Health Care Association. Feb. 05, 2010.
<http://www.ruralhealthweb.org/go/left/about-rural-health/what-s-different-about-rural-health-care>.
Linden, Todd. “Lessons for Rural Leaders”. H&HN: Hospitals & Health Networks. Dec. 2009.
Feb. 08, 2010. <http://0web.ebscohost.com.library.utulsa.edu/ehost/pdf?vid= 5&hid=113&sid=f46f23cf-5a35-4f36-b4f3-2cae83daaca1%40sessionmgr110>
Sylvia Smoller, et al. “Medical Student Views Of Healthcare Reform In The United States, 2009.” Einstein Journal Of Biology & Medicine 27.(2011): 28-33. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Sept. 2012.
Woolhandler, Stephanie, and David Himmelstein. “Healthcare Reform 2.0.” Social Research 78.3 (2011): 719-730. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Sept. 2012.
