Short answerHealth disparities

Ethical dilemmas associated with the current state

Three questions in 200 words, so each gets about sixty. The middle one is the unusual request: the cultural values underneath the health reform argument, not the argument itself.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 22, 2026

Written by

Maren Caldwell

MSN, RN, CNE

Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation

Reviewed by

Dr. Tessa Redmond

DNP, RN, CNE

Evidence-based practice and clinical education

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Assignment instructions
Deliverables
Proposed outline
Research plan
Reference shortlist
Final review

Sixty words a question, so choose rather than survey

Two hundred words across three questions is roughly sixty each, which makes selection the entire skill. Take one ethical dilemma and state it as a genuine conflict rather than listing several problems: population-level allocation against individual need is the sharpest, since resources directed to the greatest aggregate gain frequently bypass the people in worst health, and targeting a disadvantaged group efficiently can require the kind of profiling that has its own harms. Rationing scarce interventions, participation without benefit in research, and the tension between paternalism and autonomy in public health measures all work equally well, and any of them beats a list of disparities described as unfair. Whichever you choose, state both sides, because a dilemma with only one defensible answer is not a dilemma but a wrong that has already been identified. The dilemma format is what the question is asking for, and naming the good on each side is what supplies it.

The second question is the unusual one, because it asks for the cultural values underneath the positions rather than the positions themselves. Support for expanded coverage tends to draw on solidarity, collective responsibility and a view of health care as a right; opposition tends to draw on individual responsibility, self-reliance, limited government and a view of health care as a market good. Those are value commitments rather than empirical disagreements, which is why the argument does not resolve when the evidence is presented, and saying that answers the question properly. The third question wants a mechanism, so give one: social justice reframes a disparity as an injustice with a cause rather than a difference to be observed, and a human rights framing creates obligations and accountability rather than aspirations, which is what moves a disparity from regrettable to being someone's stated responsibility to remedy, with a body that can be held to it.

Likely learning objectives

Select one dilemma and state it as a genuine conflict.
Distinguish value commitments from empirical disagreements in policy argument.
Explain social justice and human rights as mechanisms rather than sentiments.
Work within a tight word budget by choosing rather than surveying.

Assignment instructions

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Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Read chapters 14 and 15, in your textbook, Transcultural Concepts in Nursing Care 7th ed, 2016. Then, answer the following questions: Describe ethical dilemmas associated with the current state of population health and health disparities. Discuss the cultural underpinnings supporting pros and cons of health care reform and the Affordable Care Act in the United States. Explain how the principles of social justice and human rights protection reduce health disparities. APA format, 200 words, no header needed or title page. 2 references, 1 being the book and the other within the last 5 years. You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes. Ethical dilemmas associated with the current state Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages. Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor. The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours. Ethical dilemmas associated with the current state

Turn the brief into deliverables

01One ethical dilemma stated as a conflict between two goods.
02The values supporting expanded coverage.
03The values supporting opposition to it.
04A statement that these are value rather than evidential disagreements.
05A mechanism by which social justice or rights framing reduces disparities.
06Two references, one being the textbook.