Week 4 – Discussion

Prompt
This week’s discussion topic will be on the continuum of care in the United States.
Initial post (Tuesday at 11:59pm)
Answer the following questions in 200 words.

What country and key populations have you chosen to focus on in your position paper?
Apply the concept of the continuum of care to one of these vulnerable populations. How are HIV care and treatment challenged for this group in this country context?

Response post (Thursday at 11:59pm)
Respond to 1 peer posts (50-100 words). In order to see other students’ posts, you must first submit your initial post to each forum. In your response, describe how the experience of vulnerable groups in the country you are working on in your position paper are similar/different to those described in your peer’s post.
This encourages each student to fully engage with the assignment and provide original thoughts while prohibiting students from merely rehashing what other students have already posted.
Your replies should offer new substantiated ideas or thoughtful questions. Friendly debate and disagreements are encouraged but do so in a courteous and respectful manner. Do not be afraid to speak your mind, but remember that yours is only one opinion.
Guidelines

Discussion posts should exhibit careful thought, logical reasoning and provide evidence for your position.
Each post should be at least one well-developed paragraph (200 words initial post and 50-100 word reply).
Use correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Copying text without proper documentation from any source, including the textbook or PowerPoint, is plagiarism, an academic felony (see course Syllabus for the policy on plagiarism). Therefore, please do NOT copy and paste information into the Discussion Board.
Any written assignment must be in the student’s voice. The use of lengthy quotes or lists obtained from resources are not acceptable. If you feel you need to use quotes make sure they are brief and in APA format.
Make certain replies to classmates are new thoughts. Saying “good job” and summarizing what a classmate has posted does not meet the discussion board qualifications for replies to classmates.
Make certain you do not repeat yourself in your posts.
Due to the interactive nature of the discussion board, there is no makeup work for discussion forums. Therefore, it is advisable to complete the discussion board forum early in the week and not wait until the last hour of the last day to finish, due to the fact that any emergency during the last few hours may result in missing the opportunity to post.
Effective communication is critical. The quality and quantity of the information you provide can either draw a person in or drive them away. Here are 7 things to consider when approaching writing:

Be Concise – Only say what you need to say and no more.
Write clearly – Make sure what your write makes sense.
Be Thorough- Be complete and provide your reader with the information they require.
Be accurate – No grammatical and/or factual errors.
Be Coherent – Make sure there is a logical flow from point to point.
Be consistent – Spelling, punctuation, headings, bullet points, fonts.
Check your writing – Read it out loud to yourself!!

Evaluation

Total points possible: 10 (See Rubric)
Late posts: 1 point will be deducted for each day post submitted after the due date (Tuesday for initial, Thursday for replies; maximum 3 days late before no credit is awarded)

Details

Initial post due: Tuesday by 11:59 pm
Response posts due: Thursday by 11:59 pm