Assignment: Factors Contributing to Health Disparities and Ways to Address Them. The Healthy People 2020 objectives and the Millennium Goals are two ambitious approaches to addressing the disparities found in vulnerable populations. In this Application Assignment, you will determine factors that contribute to health disparities, how culture impacts treatment in healthcare, and how the goals and objectives plan to reduce or eliminate health disparities. To prepare for this Application Assignment, review the following (with your Healthy People assigned focus area in mind): The definition of culture and articles relating to how culture impacts treatment in healthcare are posted in the Doc Sharing area under Week 3 helpful articles Pages 24–41 of your textbook about the objectives that relate to health care in general and, more specifically, health disparities. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2009 http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_Report_2009_ENG.pdf Healthy People 2020: What Are Its Goals? http://healthypeople.gov/2020/ Focus your attention on “Overarching Goal #2: Achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups.” To complete this Application Assignment, write a 3- to 4-page paper that addresses the following questions. What socio-ecological factors contribute to the existence of health disparities? (Examples include socioeconomics and education). How might one’s culture serve as a barrier to equal treatment when it comes to healthcare? Give an example. (*Note: Please remember that culture is not skin color). Give an example or examples of how populations experience unequal treatment and disparity in healthcare. Provide some statistics to help illustrate this point from the CDC, the textbook, your Resources this week, or another reliable source. How do the health-related Millennium Development Goals address such health disparities? Discuss 2 to 3 Healthy People 2020 objectives that provide a framework for addressing health disparities, based on your Healthy People assigned focus area. Support your answers with statistical information about your Healthy People assigned focus area. The following are a few websites that provide a wealth of data regarding specific populations and Healthy People assigned focus area: State Health Facts, Kaiser Family Foundation www.statehealthfacts.org Statistical Information System, World Health Organization http://www.who.int/whosis/en/ Interactive Map: Maps: The Global Picture http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/atlas/us.html Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct. Also, since this is your only application, you may want to submit this to a Walden Writing Center tutor first. Other helpful resources include: Citations: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/citations/intextparenthetical Reference List: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/references “Gold Star” Application Example Jody Early. GOLDSTAR APPLICATION EXAMPLE. Used by permission of Jody Early. Organizing Your Week 3 Application Paper. Used by permission of Shelley Armstrong. By Day 7 Submit your assignment Submission and Grading Information To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following: Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK3Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name. Click the Week 3 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment. Click the Week 3 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area. Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK3Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open. If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database. Click on the Submit button to complete your submission. Grading Criteria To access your rubric: Week 3 Assignment Rubric Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity To check your Assignment draft for authenticity: Submit your Week 3 Assignment draft and review the originality report. Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 To submit your Assignment: Week 3 Assignment