Utilize at least 7–10 scholarly sources in your research and be sure to include a references page.

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Course Project

The course project will be a research paper that encourages you to consider how to impact change in your own community. Below you will find a review of the steps you should have taken to complete the final assignment.

You should have gained an in-depth perspective of public health by understanding how to assess and analyze data, understand theoretical concepts, and apply policy and interventions for individual, community, and population level change. Based on what you have learned throughout the course from the readings, and from your own experiences, you will be able to provide thoughtful recommendations for how to develop health strategies that may be used to improve population health outcomes.

Consider the leadership skills and practical skills that may be required to enhance implementation of those strategies. It is important to think strategically and collaboratively when working within the field of public health.

The course assignments and final project will prepare you with the skills, tools, and resources to respond to or plan for public health challenges.

You have accomplished the following tasks in the previous weeks:

  • Chosen a community in the United States.
  • Identified the geographical location, that is, rural, urban, region, or neighborhood, and described the demographics, overall health status, and health statistics of the location.
  • Then, identified a health challenge or issue that is greatly affecting or burdening the community.
  • Explained and discussed access to healthcare in this location (i.e. community health centers, hospitals, health insurance providers, etc.) and the types of health and social services available as they relate to the health challenge. Presented any other community assets that may help to support prevention or solve the issue.
  • Additionally, researched the policies, programs, and strategies currently in place that support the prevention and elimination of the health issue. You may have also found that there are challenges to health improvement due to those same policies, programs, and strategies; be sure to incorporate any such findings into your presentation.
  • Identified and discussed the champions for health in the community and expanded on their approaches for success.
  • Described innovative approaches towards progress and provided recommendations for advancing public health in the community.

Write a 15–20-page, double-spaced paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Utilize at least 7–10 scholarly sources in your research and be sure to include a references page. Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Submission Details:

  • Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_W5_A2.doc.

To what extent do you think women still have a better opportunity to  forge deeper friendships than men? What needs to change to level the  friendship playing field for men, if anything?

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  • To what extent do you think women still have a better opportunity to  forge deeper friendships than men? What needs to change to level the  friendship playing field for men, if anything?

I think that both men and women can forge the same deep level of  friendship with a person. I will say that the friendships might be  different as well as the things that make these friendships closer.  Women might show their friendship differently than men do. I have some  amazing friends that I consider my brothers that I share a very deep  friendship with. I believe that the opportunity to forge these  friendships is available to everyone if they choose to engage in it. In  my opinion if a man doesn’t show the affection towards another man like  women show to one another it doesn’t mean its less valuable. Foucault  stated, “modern society seems to be especially anxious about the way  people behave in it” (Vernon, 2010). In today’s society people are  encourage to show their feelings and express themselves. Men are  portrayed to have a lesser friendship amongst them because they don’t  show the same affection, which I totally disagree. I don’t feel that I  have to be showing affection in order to prove the level of my  friendship. If I need affection I will ask for it. A good example was  when I was deployed to Iraq. We were going through some hard times and I  told my good friend I needed a hug. He gave me one without hesitation.  That hug made us feel better and nothing thought nothing of it. As I  stated, people don’t have to show their affection every day to show how  deep their friendship is. I don’t think anything needs to change to  level the playing field. If you choose to engage in a deep relationship  then do so without worrying what people might say. If you are letting  yourself be influence by people’s opinion you will never be happy.

  • How is the role of the metrosexual man helping to forge a new pathway for male friendships?

Metrosexual men are forging a new pathway for male friendships in a  way that male affection is not being view as homosexual. The metrosexual  man has showed that it is ok to want to take care of your body and to  show your true self without being labeled as something else. Thanks to  the metrosexual trend, guys now can actually conduct activities without  the fear of being labeled as something they are not. “The metrosexual  male is less interested in blood lines, traditions, family, class,  gender, than in choosing who they want to be and who they want to be  with” (Vernon, 2010, p. 204). I agree with this because it allows male  individuals to be free to be able to show who they want to be friends  with regardless of what other think. I think because of metrosexuals  more men today can be more confident in doing things they like without  being judge in any way. Sullivan states that the main difference between  homosexual men and heterosexual men is not that of sexual preference  but their ability to sustain friendship (Vernon, 2010). I feel that this  comes down to the individual. I don’t think that a homosexual is more  capable of sustaining a friendship than a heterosexual or a metrosexual  just because of their sexual preference. They might be able to show  their feeling and affection more openly but that doesn’t mean they can  sustain them any differently.

Reference

Vernon, M. (2010). The Meaning of Friendship. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Circle of Friends (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) [Video  File, 2 min 48 sec] Retrieved from  http://vlib.excelsior.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com.vlib.excelsior.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=8496&xtid=6749&loid=36153

I believe men can have a strong bond, share thoughts and feelings,  express ourselves honestly, and have a full and meaningful friendship.

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I believe men can have a strong bond, share thoughts and feelings,  express ourselves honestly, and have a full and meaningful friendship.  Mary Hunt explained the female friendships as ‘right relationships’  based on love, embodiment, power, and spirituality. She goes on to  explain each of these elements of ‘right relationships’ to manifest  friendships, which are both “liberating and witness to it”(Vernon,  2010). Unfortunately, I cannot draw from any personal experiences with  female friendship, but I can talk to my friends about it. One friend I  asked said, “I have close friendships with other women because we go  through the same experiences,” That leads me to believe that men, can  have that type of friendship as well. When asking my sister, she  replied, “I prefer the company of men because they do not judge.” I  found that observation interesting, in that I have at no point felt  judged by my male friends, instead when I do something I would consider  “judge worthy” my friends usually tell me how they would have handled  that situation.

I do not think any changes need to happen necessarily with friends  between men, but instead, we need to continue on our gradual  improvements on the idea of how to define a man in western cultures. As I  mentioned in my last discussion, generationally speaking, male friends  today are different than male friends of 60 years ago. The newer concept  of the “metrosexual male” coined by Mark Simpson and described as a man  “who consumes in all the best gyms, clubs, shops and hairdressers  (Vernon, 2010)”, could help speed the progress along. Metrosexuals  aren’t just the guy at your gym wearing yoga pants with a man-bun in his  hair, but also the man who wants his shirts to fit well because he  wants to look ascetically pleasing to the eye. I think the term  metrosexual will be incredibly short-lived in history as it is just the  “missing link” between what we were and what we will soon be as a  gender.

Reference:

Vernon, M. (2010). The Meaning of Friendship. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Foucault strongly influenced queer  theory and was at the forefront of the early days of equal rights for  homosexuals (Pickett, 2009).

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Changes in social stereotypes have improved the way that most people  view the LGBTQ community. A few things factor into this, I believe. One  is the gradual agnosticism that is taking over the country as well as  mass public acceptance of alternative lifestyles culturally. The way  homosexuals have were treated throughout history was horrifying. in 1533  in England, homosexuality was a crime punishable by hanging (Pickett,  2009)  even today in countries like Afghanistan and other middle east  nations where Sharia Law is followed, homosexuality is punishable by  death. Even Angela Mason argues that homosexuals have been “The most  sexually stigmatized group within society (Vernon, 2010).”

Only within most of our lifetime have we seen drastic changes happen  in the LGBTQ community. With the public acceptance of homosexuality, we  are now able to study and explore the culture at a macro level.  Friendships that developed between homosexuals tend to have a stronger  bond. Andrew Sullivan describes the types of friendship shared by two  homosexuals as not centered around shared interests, but rather the  alliance and shared experience between the two in a world where  homosexuality is often considered a taboo (Vernon, 2010). We can look to  the modern homosexual friendship as a blueprint of what a bond can be  at its highest level. Not many things can bring people closer than the  feeling of being hated by society and not allowed to express yourself  without the fear of public humiliation or worse the fear of death.  Philosopher Michel Foucault, A leading figure on postmodern thought,  wrote that even psychologists in the late 1950s tried to mask  homosexuality as a form of pathology. Foucault strongly influenced queer  theory and was at the forefront of the early days of equal rights for  homosexuals (Pickett, 2009).

The difference between what I consider to be typical inside a  friendship and what my grandfather thought to be normal is as different  as day and night. My grandfather, being a WWII Veteran and a former  leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had different  views on friendship than me. He had a few close friends that he knew  almost nothing about besides their favorite baseball teams and what they  bring to the table when fixing a classic car. I would imagine their  only interactions being a stern handshake and conversations about who  they think will win a sporting event of some sort. His friendships are  vastly different than my close male friends and me. We know everything  about each other. We often greet each other with a warm hug and often  talk about personal things. The taboo that would have been in my  grandfathers’ mind when interacting with other men has slowly gone away  because the acceptance of homosexuals in our community has also allowed  non-homosexuals to connect deeper than before.

References:

Pickett, B. (2009). The A to Z of Homosexuality.  Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. Retrieved from  https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=337420&site=eds-live&scope=site

Vernon, M. (2010). The Meaning of Friendship. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.