2- Exploring Aspects of National / Local Healthcare Policy

001_PRES: Presentation Assignment 1 (Part A): Exploring Aspects of National / Local Healthcare Policy (50%)

Learning Outcomes
This assignment tests whether you have achieved the following learning outcomes, by demonstrating you are able to:
• Understand the global policy context for healthcare delivery and how this impacts on the role of leaders
• Critically and systematically evaluate the opportunities and challenges presented by different models of healthcare delivery
• Convey complex information effectively and accurately, integrating reference to supporting literature

Presentation Title
Assignment 1 (Part A): Exploring Aspects of National / Local Healthcare Policy.

Assignment Brief
In this part of the assignment, you are required to complete a 10-minute presentation exploring any selected aspect of national or local healthcare policy in your own country / region. The presentation allows you the opportunity to summarise the context in which the policy exists, its core components and its strengths and weaknesses.
You can select any policy to present on. It may be a broad national approach to healthcare delivery, like a health insurance scheme, or something more specific, such as a workforce development policy or pandemic preparation policy. It could even be a local policy, such as a city’s alcohol harm reduction scheme or a hospital’s medication management policy.
Your presentation needs to be recorded and contain two elements: a PowerPoint / Keynote / Prezi slide set (keep it brief – you only have 10 minutes) and an audio or video commentary.
You can record the presentation however you see fit – it could be recorded on your phone, or via a Zoom or Teams meeting. You can find specific help on how to upload files for submission with your assignment here.
The following is a guide to how your presentation could be structured, but you may need / wish to adapt this, depending on your choice of policy:
Slide 1: Introduction. Introduce yourself, your role and the context in which you work (eg country, region, organisation).
Slide 2: Overview of the policy. Summarise what policy it is you will be discussing: What is it called? What area of healthcare is it addressing? Who wrote it? What is its scope (eg is it nationwide, region-wide or organisation-wide?)
Slide 3: Development and implementation of the policy. What challenges does the policy seek to address? How was it developed? Who were the key stakeholders?
The level of insight you have into the development and implementation of the policy will depend on what type of policy it is (for example, if it is a policy you were responsible for developing, you will be able to speak in great detail about this, whereas the mechanisms of developing a national policy may be less apparent to you).
Slide 4: Impact of the policy. How was the impact of the policy evaluated? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the policy? Has it met its goals? What lessons have been learned in relation to future policy development.
It is important to support your presentation with key theories and evidence, which you integrate with your account of the policy’s development, implementation and scope.
Grading Descriptors Guidance
Allocation of marks
Quality of presentation slides (clarity, formatting, etc) 20/100
Quality of delivery (pace, timing, clarity) 20/100
Content of presentation (familiarisation with subject material; identification of challenges; analysis of strengths and weaknesses; integration of supporting material) 60/100
Total 100 marks available
Additional Guidance
Given that you are speaking about your own experiences in real-world settings, take care not to breach confidentiality. Only name organisations if the policy you are discussing is in the public domain. If you are speaking about other individuals, such as colleagues, line managers or service users, please ensure you use a pseudonym so they are not identifiable.

Critical Thinking and Writing
Remember to think critically about the language used in the work you read.
As in any piece of critical writing, you need to ensure you use credible academic sources to inform your work, and we would like you to consider and explore a range of alternative perspectives.
Critical writing requires you to evaluate and make judgements about the evidence you review – to step back and not take things at face value. Being critical does not simply mean criticising in a negative way. Instead, it requires you to question the text, and to present your judgement or evaluation of it reasonably.
Please Note
Please carefully read the university guidelines on how to present and submit an assignment. It is important you reference using the Harvard system and follow the correct presentation guidelines – the full guide to Harvard referencing can be found in the Student Hub.
• Submit work in Calibri, 12pt with 1.5 line spacing.
• Insert a covering page with your student number, assignment title and word count
• Avoid use of direct quotes – these can eat into your word count and generally are just offering a description or definition, whereas you need to present analysis and synthesis.
• Word count for assignments includes everything you have written, excluding the reference list.
• If you use acronyms, ensure the first use of each one also provides an initial explanation, for example, World Health Organisation (WHO).
• Proofread your work carefully before submission, to ensure clarity and consistency.
• Ensure you pay close attention to these assignment guidelines, answering what has been asked of you and checking you are meeting the learning outcomes for the module – marks can easily be lost, particularly with incorrect referencing.
Presentation Length
10 minutes maximum.
Submit your assignment electronically via Canvas in .mp4 format. A list of all supported file types for Canvas uploads can be found here

002_CWRK: Supporting Narrative Assignment 1 (Part B): Supporting Narrative for the Part A Presentation (50%)

Essay Title
Assignment 1 (Part B): Supporting Narrative for the Part A Presentation.

Assignment Brief
In this part of the assignment, you are required to provide a narrative to support the presentation delivered as Part A of the assignment. This narrative provides you with the opportunity to expand on some key elements of the policy you presented, with a particular focus on its development- Total of 2,350 words.
It is important to remember this is Part B of the assignment, which supplements and complements your presentation, so you must discuss the same policy as you did in Part A.
Part B also allows you to demonstrate integration of relevant healthcare policy theories and the account of the chosen policy.
The assignment should have four sections:
Context of the healthcare policy (approx 300 words): This should describe the context into which the policy was implemented. For example, was this a national policy or an organisational one? What are the characteristics of the nation / region / organisation into which the policy was implemented? This section should also define any technical or clinical terms related to the policy.
Purpose, scope and rationale (approx 500-700 words): This section should clarify why the policy was required. What particular issue was being addressed, and what were the desired outcomes of developing and implementing the policy? For example, was it to promote lifestyle change in the population? Was it to improve access to care? Was it to support workforce development?
This section should also include a brief overview of the evidence base that provided a rationale for the development and implementation of the policy.
Policy development, implementation and evaluation (approx 500-700 words): In this section of the work, you should provide an account of how the policy was developed, implemented and evaluated. This might also include an overview of the key stakeholders in the policy and how they were engaged in the process.
The level of insight you have into the development and implementation of the policy will depend on what type of policy it is (for example, if it is a policy you were responsible for developing, you will be able to speak in great detail about it, whereas the mechanisms of developing a national policy may be less apparent to you).
Critical analysis of the policy (approx 1000 words): The work will finish with a critical analysis of the policy in which you demonstrate your ability to develop evidence-based arguments regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the policy.
The foci of this analysis will vary according to the policy chosen. You may choose to focus on the evidence base for the policy itself, or the process of policy development and implementation, or the approach to evaluation (or a combination of these).
Grading Descriptors Guidance
Allocation of marks
Context of the healthcare policy 10/100
Purpose, scope and rationale 25/100
Policy development, implementation and evaluation 25/100
Critical analysis of the policy 40/100
Total 100 marks available
Additional Guidance
Given you are writing about your own experiences in real-world settings, take care not to breach confidentiality. Only name organisations if the policy you are discussing is in the public domain. If you are writing about other individuals, such as colleagues, line managers or service users, please ensure you use a pseudonym so they are not identifiable.
In addition to covering the key points outlined above, ensure the work is written clearly and coherently. It is important to make use of the University’s Skills Team if you are in any doubt about your presentation skills. The mark awarded will be based on how your work is assessed against the Level 7 marking criteria, which are available here
Critical Thinking and Writing
Remember to think critically about the language used in the work you read.
As in any piece of critical writing, you need to ensure you use credible academic sources to inform your work, and we would like you to consider and explore a range of alternative perspectives.
Critical writing requires you to evaluate and make judgements about the evidence you review; to step back and not take things at face value. Being critical does not simply mean criticising in a negative way. Instead, it requires you to question the text, and to present your judgement or evaluation of it reasonably.
Please Note
Please carefully read the university’s guidelines on how to present and submit an assignment. It is important you reference using the Harvard system and follow the correct presentation guidelines – the full guide to Harvard referencing can be found in the Student Hub.
• Submit work in Calibri, 12pt with 1.5 line spacing.
• Insert a covering page with your student number, assignment title and word count
• Avoid use of direct quotes – these can eat into your word count and generally are just offering a description or definition, whereas you need to present analysis and synthesis.
• Word count for assignments includes everything you have written, excluding the reference list.
• If you use acronyms, ensure the first use of each one also provides an initial explanation, for example, World Health Organisation (WHO).
• Proofread your work carefully before submission to ensure clarity and consistency.
• Ensure you pay close attention to these assignment guidelines, answering what has been asked of you and checking you are meeting the learning outcomes for the module – marks can easily be lost, particularly with incorrect referencing.
Word Count
2500 words maximum.
Submit your assignment electronically via Canvas in Word doc or PDF format.