Assignment: Comparative Healthcare Data Exercise

Assignment: Comparative Healthcare Data Exercise Instructions and Grading Rubric

Assignment Rationale:

Please refer to the course syllabus to determine what percentage this assignment is of your final course grade. The purpose of this assignment is to allow each student an opportunity to compare healthcare data and information for hospital inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory settings, as well as population-based health care data on counties.

Assignment Learning Objective:

Each assignment will be related to a specific learning objective. This assignment is linked to the following Week 5 Learning Objective 6 (Relate the origins and uses of major health care comparative data sets).

Assignment Instructions:

Please visit the  Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) website. This website offers a free, online query system.  After careful examination of the site (completion of the tutorials(s) is recommended), choose an inquiry of interest regarding hospital inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory settings, as well as population-based health care data on counties. Note: The more focused the inquiry, the easier the analysis will be to complete.

1. Create a table or chart depicting the comparative healthcare data for chosen query. (Hint: Download findings as an Excel file and create a table).
2. Insert the created table or chart into a Word document.
3. Include in the Word document a discussion of the results of the analysis.
4. Please read the grading rubric (below) carefully before submitting the assignment.
5. Please include any necessary references, making sure to use APA formatting.
6. This assignment is not a formal academic paper, but an APA formatted cover sheet will still be required.
7. Submit this assignment as a Word document, using the link found within the Week 5 Learning Activities Folder.

Comparative Healthcare Data Exercise Grading Rubric

Element

Exemplary (4 points)

Proficient (3 points)

Developing (2 points)

Needs Improvement (1 points)

No Credit (0 points)

Comparative Healthcare Data Table or ChartTable or chart provided includes all necessary elements to provides complete, clear, easily understood results specific to the stated inquiry.  Table provided improves understanding of the stated inquiry.   Table provided is missing comparative healthcare data relevant to the stated inquiry. Table provided does not seem to include information relevant to the inquiry.  Not present in document.Inquiry StatementSpecific, clear inquiry statement is provided. Inquiry statement is provided.  Inquiry statement provided but the intended comparison is unclear. Suggested inquiry statement does not seem feasible given the data available on HCUP website.   Not present in document.Discussion of FindingsDiscussion provides enough information to make it crystal clear to the reader that the student has the skill to fully comprehend comparative healthcare information, including the rationale for the query, a detailed comparative analysis of the discovered data, and an example of the potential usefulness of the information provided by the query. Discussion provides solid rationale for the query, an analysis of the discovered data, and the perceived usefulness of the information provided by the query.
Discussion is missing one of the following three elements: 1) rationale for the query, 2) data analysis, or 3) meaning of the information provided by the query.
Discussion is missing two of the following three elements: 1) rationale for the query, 2) data analysis, or 3) meaning of the information provided by the query.  Not present in document.APA FormattingNo APA errors (cover page, in-text citations, and references).One to two APA errors (cover page, in-text citations, and references).Three to four APA errors (cover page, in-text citations, and references).Five APA errors (cover page, in-text citations, and references).More than five APA errors (cover page, in-text citations, and references).Grammar, Spelling, and Sentence StructureWriting is of excellent quality; free of any grammar and spelling errors. Writing is polished; one to two grammar or spelling errors. Writing is adequate for graduate level work; three to four grammar or spelling errors.Writing is inadequate for graduate level work; five spelling or grammar errors.Poorly written with multiple (> 5) spelling and grammar errors.