Content Area: Health and Physical Education

 

Index: 2.2C Grade 12 CPI 2

 

Standard: 2.2 - Integrated Skills

 

Strand: C -   Planning and Goal Setting

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 2 -  The student will evaluate how family, peers, healthcare providers, and the community support or hinder the achievement of a wellness plan.

 

Grade: 12

 

Framework Activities:

 

·       CHOOSING HEALTHCARE - Students select a specialty healthcare provider (e.g., music therapist, dental hygienist, medical technician, pediatric nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, psychiatrist); research career preparation, licensing requirements, and job specifications; and develop a list of 10 criteria to consider when choosing that type of healthcare provider. Students develop a community resource guide using the information.

Variation: Students research various kinds of healthcare facilities (e.g., nonprofit hospital, voluntary agencies, community clinic, college health centers) and develop a criteria list and/or a resource guide as noted above.

Variation: Provide students with a description of health services delivered by a community agency or health professional. Students match the description with the correct agency name or professional title.

Variation: Research types of life, health, and disability insurance. Develop a guide for students describing each type and the benefits and problems associated with each.

 

·       WHO PAYS FOR HEALTHCARE? - Invite a personnel or benefits director from a large company to discuss the health benefits package available to employees. (You may prefer to have a panel of speakers representing various employers in the community.) Be sure the speakers address terminology such as pre-existing condition, deductible, copayment and lifetime limit. After the presentation, divide the class into groups. Give each group a folder that describes an insurance package. Students review the package and list the positive and negative aspects of the program. The guest speakers circulate and assist in the review. Each group presents their package and the class votes on which benefits package they think is the best. Students justify their choices.

Variation: Provide students with case histories of individuals with illnesses or injuries that require hospitalization or long-term healthcare. Students interview hospital representatives, healthcare providers, pharmacists, and insurance company representatives to determine the costs and parameters
of care. A speaker from the local hospital may be used to explain hospital charges and recent changes in length-of-stay necessitated by insurance reform.

SAMPLE CASE STUDY
Maria has a 6 year old brother with severe asthma. Her family does not have insurance and they do not qualify for Medicaid. When Jose has a bad asthma attack, Maria has to rush him to the local emergency room. Usually they give him some new medicine and send him home. He has not been to his asthma doctor in over a year and he has four new medicines to take. Maria is concerned that he is on too many medicines.

 

·       WHERE TO GO - Explain that it is important to know where to go to get appropriate healthcare, especially when students will be moving out, going to college, or joining the armed forces. Divide the class into small groups and give each group a scenario. Students analyze the problems noted in the scenario, conduct appropriate research, and make recommendations for care. Students discuss their conclusions and suggestions with the rest of the class. Scenarios might include the following:
-       S. W. missed her last period and has been nauseous the last 2 weeks.
-       J. W. has constant pain in his knee and sometimes it is swollen. He has been taking an over-the- counter medication for over 2 weeks.
-       T. W. has pain on urination and continues to have unprotected sex with several partners.
-       P. W. has had shortness of breath and feels her heart pounding whenever she takes a test.
-       Q. W. has had frequent nosebleeds, tires easily, and has bruises on his arms and legs.

 

·       SCAVENGER HUNT - Provide students with a series of questions or a problem to solve related to obtaining healthcare. To solve the problem, students solicit assistance from local health agencies or providers and report the results to the class. Sample questions might include the following:
-       Where can you go for anonymous HIV testing? If you find out your test is positive, where do you go? If it’s negative?
-       Where do you go to obtain prenatal nutrition counseling?
-       You need transportation to the local health clinic for some tests. Who can you call?
-       You have no insurance and you need a pregnancy and STD test.
-      Your mother is very ill and you need some help around the house so you can attend school.
-       Your friend wants to have an abortion. Where can you help her find out more about the procedure?
-       Your family is in chaos. Your father left town and your mom is very depressed. Your brother starting drinking again. Where can you go for help?

 

·       AGENCIES THAT PROTECT YOUR HEALTH - Students compile a list of local, county, state, federal, and international agencies and organizations that protect and promote health (e.g., local, county, and state health departments, CDC, WHO, American Cancer Society [ACS], American Heart Association [AHA], Children’s Defense Fund [CDF]). Students choose one agency and create a chart, booklet, or display focusing on the purpose of the agency, the organizational structure, funding, and important agency projects. Students should also include the location(s) of the agency and contact information in their project. Students establish a mini-health fair to showcase information about the agencies.

Variation: Students combine their research to develop a resource booklet. Students develop a distribution plan and disseminate the information as part of a community service project.

 

·       ETHICS IN HEALTHCARE - The media has drawn attention to a number of ethical issues in healthcare. Share articles from newspapers and magazines or information from Web sites that illustrate some of these issues. Pose a number of questions for student research and debate. After students debate each question, the class votes on the issue based on the information provided. Each student completes the assignment by writing a brief journal entry “What I Learned From Both Sides.”

 

SAMPLE DEBATE QUESTIONS
-       Should some people not be eligible for organ transplants (e.g., prisoners, individuals with other terminal illnesses)?
-       Should assisted suicide be legal?
-      Should medicinal marijuana use be legal?
-       Should the state provide clean needles to drug users to decrease the incidence of HIV infection?
-       Should mothers who use drugs be permitted to keep their babies?
-       Should bicycle and motorcycle helmets be required by law?
-       Should insurance companies be required to pay for contraceptives?

 

·       COMPARING INFORMATION - Students select health-focused pamphlets, articles from magazines and journals, books, and information from on-line resources. Each student selects three distinctly different resources and compares each. As part of the review, students identify potential conflicts or contradictions in content and develop a list of questions about each resource. Each student develops a brief written summary of each resource with additional comments or concerns. Discuss the students’ findings and develop a list of reliable source for health information.

Variation: Each student selects a particular health topic (e.g., HIV/AIDS, Lyme disease, immunizations, marijuana use) and locates three resources about that topic. Each student shares his/her selected resources with an appropriate healthcare provider or school staff member (e.g., school nurse, substance awareness coordinator, counselor) for their review and comment (using a class-designed review and rating chart). Each student writes a summary of the reviewer’s comments.