Step 1: Highlighting key instructions and key words
The three parts of your essay are written below. Each part of your essay has an instruction and keywords linked to it. Use the text ‘highlight colour function’ on the home tab to highlight the instruction words yellow and the keywords green:
Part 1:
A high-quality health system is essential for universal health coverage. In this part of the essay, you are required to propose a definition of a high-quality health system and explain why South Africa would need this type of health system for universal health coverage to work. You need to identify and provide evidence-based reasons for why South Africa needs such a system and identify the values that underpin your definition. In your definition you are answering the question, ‘What are the components of a high-quality health care system, i.e., what should your health system achieve and how?’ While this section of your essay requires a level of argument and originality, consider it more expository in that you need to provide a clear, focused explanation of a quality health care system. Generally expository essays do not require an original argument, just a balanced and well-organized view of what a high-quality health system would entail. Here, we are testing how well you research and understand the topic of a high-quality health care system and your ability to organize and convey the information you gather.
Part 2:
For this part of your essay, you are responding to the question ‘Can UHC be achieved in South Africa right now?’ In answering this question, you need to provide an evidence-based argument to convince the reader of your clear stance. Remember an argumentative essay tests your ability to research and present your own position on a topic. It requires a strong thesis statement—a clearly defined stance in response to the question asked. Your aim is to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence (such as quotations from literature) and analysis. While the answer is a straightforward- yes or no- you need to justify why you think UHC is achievable in South Africa or not.
Part 3:
Rispel et al (2019) describe the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) as “a health-financing system that pools funds to provide access to quality health services for all South Africans based on health needs and irrespective of socio-economic status. NHI aims to reform the health system towards the achievement of UHC”. Therefore, the NHI focuses on Health Financing as a building block through which to implement the process of reform of the Health System to provide UHC. NHI aims to achieve this by changing the way the country pays for healthcare. Using the case of National Health Insurance as an example, the final component of your essay is for you to suggest one building block through which to implement the process of reform of the Health System to provide UHC. In your answer describe your chosen building block explaining the various components that make it up. You are then required to suggest one or more process(es) that can be implemented through this building block to improve the quality of the Health System and to ensure that Section 27 of the constitution- access to health services for all- is realised.
Make sure you understand all the words you have highlighted, if there is a word you do not understand, make sure to look it up in a dictionary if it is not included in the list of words on the session on uLwazi. The words you have highlighted in yellow, should tell you what to do. And the words highlighted in green, give you vital information about how to do this.
Once you have thought about or investigated each highlighted word, then you should be able to make sense of the question and understand exactly what is expected in your essay.
Step 2: Paraphrasing the question
Now that you understand what is expected, write in your own words (paraphrase) what you think the question is asking you to do:
Part 1:
Because South Africa would like to implement a universal healthcare system, it would be important for there to be a high-quality health system. A suggested definition for high-quality health system should be provided as well as give explanation as to why South Africa would need a high-quality health system to for the universal healthcare system to be successfully realized. It is necessary that your explanation should be evidence based and identify the values that underpin the definition that you suggested for what it means to have a high-quality health system. In your definition you are answering the question, ‘What are the components of a high-quality health care system, i.e., what should your health system achieve and how?’ In this part of the essay a well-balanced view should be provided in order to explain and convey the information, such as what a high-quality system would require. It is important that you illustrate that you did extensive research and understand the topic of a high-quality health care system and are able to organize and express the information found.
Part 2:
This part of the essay requires for you to answer the following question: ‘Can UHC be achieved in South Africa right now?’ Your response should be an evidence-based argument to persuade the reader of your point of view. It requires a strong thesis statement—your position towards the question asked should be well known. You are to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence and analysis. You should also justify the idea that UHC is an option in South Africa. This part of the essay should be evidence for your ability to research a topic and argument your position on the given topic.
Part 3:
Rispel et al (2019) describe the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) as “a health-financing system that pools funds to provide access to quality health services for all South Africans based on health needs and irrespective of socio-economic status. NHI aims to reform the health system towards the achievement of UHC.” The NHI requires financing to implement the UHC in South Africa and therefore would like to come up with a different way to receive the finances from the people that reside in the country. Financing is one building block for NHI. In this final part of the essay it is required that you come up with an idea, building block, on how UHC can be realised. You need to describe your chosen building block explaining the various components that make it up. Then it is essential to suggest one or more process(es) that can be implemented through this building block to improve the quality of the Health System and to ensure that Section 27 of the constitution- access to health services for all- is realised.
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