Help! I need ideas for a paper topic...

DWAlphaGam · #1 10-04-2002, 10:46 AM

Ok, so for my grad school class, I have a big semester-long project, and I have to come up with an idea for a topic. The assignment is to pick a biomedical subject and present it to two different audiences (for example, doctors and patients, adults and children, doctors and medical salespeople). I was going to do diabetes and present the information to children and adults, but that turned out to be the example that the professor used in class (it figures!

), and I don't want to seem like I couldn't come up with a topic of my own (even though I can't

). So now I'm kinda stuck. The idea I've been kicking around for a couple of days is to use asthma as my topic and present it to newly diagnosed kids and their parents, but I'm not sure how relavent that's going to be. My other idea is genetic testing, but I'm not exactly sure how/to whom I should present it.

So, to get to the point, here are my questions:

(1) Do any of you have asthma? If so, do you feel like you've gotten enough information about your condition? Is there anything in particular that you would like to know about it? (This way I can explain why I chose this particular topic...if people feel like they don't need further explanations, it might seem kind of pointless for me to do this project.)

(2) Any ideas about who would be interested in genetic testing besides people with a family history of certain diseases?

(3) Are there any other health/medicine topics that you are curious about that might make for an interesting project?

Thanks for your help!

pinkey08 · #2 10-04-2002, 11:03 AM

What about stem cell research ?
________
Old Man Young

justamom · #3 10-04-2002, 11:14 AM

Don't know if this would even fall into one of your categories, but BOTOX is a rage, to the point where women AND men are having BOTOX parties. Since it is so expensive, and in "simple" treatment cases, some BOTOX remains unused. By having several people scheduled, it cuts the cost.

Most people jump on bandwagons when it comes to their health-even more so when it involves cosmetics. All of the dangers are not well publicized and people don't have enough info before they sign up.

The same problem exists for elective procedures and a lack of KNOWLEDGEABLE practitioners who go to a weekend course and "learn" the recipe without understanding the ingredients.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...=Google+Search

edited to add this link.

ilovemyglo · #4 10-04-2002, 11:46 AM

I will tell you what I am in physical therapy and it would be interesting to learn more about the different treatments they offer. I just learned that pregnant women can get special treatments along with elderly patients, etc. They have specialized treatments for almost any "group"
Just a thought!
Sarah

texas*princess · #5 10-04-2002, 12:03 PM

Some medical/health topics I think could be interesting:

*Smallpox? (since the news brings it up *a lot*)

*alztimers (i know i spelled that one wrong.. but i think it would be interesting to learn about)

*Allergies (a lot of people have allergies.. I think adults and children could both benefit from learning more about them)

Optimist Prime · #6 10-04-2002, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pinkey08
What about stem cell research ?

I was going to say that too.

PenguinTrax · #7 10-04-2002, 12:21 PM

How about breastfeeding and it's many benefits to both mother and child? (there is a juvenile diabetes tie-in, too).

three2tango · #8 10-04-2002, 12:23 PM

I was really going to be up for helping until I read the word BIOMEDICAL *Gasp* I quit reading after that

Good Luck!

Eupolis · #9 10-04-2002, 01:16 PM

About (1): I don't have asthma, but I've had clients seeking Social Security disability benefits who have had it. One client had been born two months premature, with infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), that turned into bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), that he grew out of but still had asthma, compounded by a throat defect that caused him to aspirate fluids. I met him when he was 18 months old (16 developmental age). The throat defect matter aside, prematurely born children tend to have a higher rate of lung problems -- RDS/BPD/asthma. Might it help people like his family if you explained the developmental paths that these lung problems tend to take? Your second audience could be comprised of, say, aspiring pediatricians in medical school? The only downside is that they might have gotten a lot of the same information in their pulmonary medicine coursework.

Just a few thoughts.

AOIIBrandi · #10 10-04-2002, 02:03 PM

I was going to say stem cell research too, at least I think that's what it is... When they cryogenically freeze the umbillicle (spelling?) cord after birth, so that if the child gets sick they have healthy cells they can grow.

chicagoagd · #11 10-04-2002, 03:05 PM

Anthrax or another bioterrorism weapon would be an interesting topic, your audience might pay particular attention because the threat is a stronger possibility these days.

Does a gas mask work?
Should a vaccine be used as preventative or only if you've been exposed?
Where has bioterrorism been used? What were the effects?
Can the CDC contain a virus and what measures are in place?

I know this topic would grab my attention....

Fewdfreak · #12 10-04-2002, 04:48 PM

If you use the genetic testing one, you could spin it two ways, like it would be useful to those with predispositions to certain diseases to see if they will have the gene, and then they could plan their life accordingly, or you could say that they shouldn't have that technology because it could change their lives or something. You also could branch out and say if employers/insurance companies should have the right to do genetic testing on future employees, all though such discrimination is illegal now, talk about whether or not it should be allowed, how it may still exsist (railroad workers case), and what the effects of this may be (i.e. demand for employees based on genetics, not on ability--see the movie Gattaca, it will make you think.) I've done so many speeches/papers on this, so there are tons points you could make, and there is plenty of literature out there on the subject.

Sorry, I might sound really discombobulated right now, so if you didn't understand what I am saying, it's cuz I'm tired.

Edited to add...

AOIIBrandi, that is a good topic, I watched something a while ago on this subject on one of the newsmagazine shows, and the family actually had a new baby to use the cord blood from on their older child that had a rare disease, essentially having the new baby just for the sake of using it's blood to save the other's live. If that's not controversial, I don't know what is.

canadajen · #13 10-04-2002, 05:18 PM

what about organ donation/transplantation?? ... your audiences could be doctors & potential donors/donor families (who might contest donation) ... there are a number of approaches that you could take.

just my thoughts

Good luck with your paper - be sure to let us know what topic you eventually choose!

liEP,
Jen

aephi alum · #14 10-04-2002, 06:29 PM

How about obesity in children? You can present to children, to pediatricians, and/or to parents who don't want to hear that they have to put their kids on a diet. (Yes, I am thinking of Cartman

)

Munchkin03 · #15 10-05-2002, 10:00 AM

I feel like so many asthmatics don't get enough information about their illness. There's a disproportionate amount of asthma deaths among children in poor areas--they don't have the access to proper health care, their parents weren't empowered enough to find out exactly how to take care of the kids, and sadly, in some communities, asthma isn't taken very seriously--something that will be grown out of, or worse, something that the child is faking their symptoms. I'm asthmatic, and I'm very fortunate that my parents were resourced enough to buy surpluses of my medicine and were just generally eager to find out more about this disease. For those people who aren't, some sort of presentation will be invaluable to give them some idea on how serious--yet treatable!--it is.

Good luck!