Reading Questions 7.10 Reading Questions
1.
The scenarios mentioned in Section 7.2 illustrate connections between certain social determinants of health and health outcomes. Come up with three additional scenarios which illustrate such connections. Indicate clearly which sociodemographic factors are at play.
2.
Where have you seen cycles of poverty? Give an example of a cycle of poverty from your own experience (or research one) and explain how it follows or deviates from the formula given in section Section 7.3.
3.
Choose a scenario that you came up with in question 1. If you were modeling medical need in this scenario using a parametric linear model, which variables would you use? How would you choose weights for them?
4.
Why might it be important to normalize a parametric linear model?
5.
Analyze the four assumptions of the discrete optimization model in section Section 7.8. Do they make sense to you? How would you adjust them and why? Come up with at least one additional assumption and indicate how you might adjust the model to consider it.
6.
Recall an assumption of the models presented in this chapter: "For each variable, we will use percentages of residents or households rather than population. This will ensure that our solution does not simply target the most populous areas." Is this assumption reasonable? Why are why not?
7.
Recall another assumption of the model in section Section 7.8: "Our goal will be to place three mobile clinics in three separate municipalities around the county. We will assume that each mobile clinic is placed at the centroid of a municipality." Is this assumption about centroids reasonable? Why or why not?
8.
Is the estimation for the percentage of uninsured households under 200% of the FPL in section Section 7.9 reasonable? Why or why not?
9.
Suppose that OAFC wanted to ensure that its mobile clinics were deployed a certain distance away from the brick-and-mortar clinic in Elkhorn. How could the model be adjusted to incorporate this requirement?