M2A1: US Census Data Search
In this written assignment, you will explore and critically evaluate health insurance trends using the US Census and write up your results in the form of a 2-4 page academic paper.
By the end of this activity, you will be able to:
- Conduct a search of US Census data.
- Identify and describe trends from national data sets, including US Census and NCHS data.
- Analyze the impact of changing demographics on the provision and management of healthcare services.
In this 2-4 page academic paper, you will conduct a search of the US Census data and describe your results. You will also have opportunity to incorporate what you have learned from the NCHS search you discussed this module.
Go to the following link on the US Census Bureau website: http://factfinder2.census.gov/
Under Quick Start, enter Health Insurance as a topic and your state in the state category. For example, if I were doing this search, I might enter Health Insurance and then New York. Choose your preferred database. You can choose a generic health insurance coverage status, or you can go into age by disability status. Several comprehensive reports you may choose include:
- S2701 Health Insurance Coverage Status 2008-2010 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates
- B27002 Private Health Insurance Status by Sex by Age American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates
- B27003 Public Health Insurance Status by Sex by Age American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates
- If you wish, you can also go into some of the ethnicity-based databases, e.g. B27001B Health Insurance Coverage Status by Age (Black or African American Alone) 3-Year Estimates, or any other categorical databases of interest to you.
In your paper, address the following questions.
- Describe at least 3 findings from your Census search that may be relevant to the health topic you focused on for the NCHS search and discussion. In other words, take the insurance findings from the US Census search and apply to the health condition you researched and discussed in the NCHS data.
- What surprised you about your findings?
- What trends (e.g. increase/decrease) in the presence of health insurance coverage are you seeing in your target area? Why do you think these differences in percent insured exist and what do they mean for health care planning and intervention?
- Briefly describe 3 ways in which national demographics data can be used to help health care managers predict, plan for, and respond to the changing health care needs in our society.
Evaluation Criteria
Read the SHS Written Assignment Scoring Rubric to understand expectations for this assignment.
