In all areas of nursing, patients with different cultures, backgrounds, health issues and standards of living, will access health services. For some, accessing healthcare and managing their health i

Jamez

14 Nov 2025 • 7 min read

Assessment 1

Individual written essay

100% Submission Date: Monday, 02 September 2024

In all areas of nursing, patients with different cultures, backgrounds, health issues and standards of living, will access health services. For some, accessing healthcare and managing their health is easier than for others. Having an awareness of these issues and the impact this has on populations and at an individual level, can inform and change our nursing practice. Additionally, knowing how, as nurses, we can help our patients to improve quality of care and engage our patients in their own health, can greatly improve health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and reduce healthcare costs.

Assessment Title:‘An exploration of how health inequality can affect patients in our care; and how the use of health policy and self-management tools can enhance care nurses provide’

Assessment Task

From the list below, pick one health inequality to use for your discussion in your essay:

Education
Income
Work (unemployment and quality of work)
Housing (including homelessness)
Environment (healthy spaces and food, air pollution etc)
Access to healthcare (e.g. maybe more limited due to ethnicity, LGBT, disability, mental health)

If you have a health inequality you would like to use for you essay that is not in this list, please speak with the module lead to agree this first.

What to include:

Compose a 2000 word written essay.
Consider a patient you have looked after and briefly introduce the patient in your introduction, identifying one of their health issues.
Select one health inequality (from the choice offered)which has affected the patient or service user you have looked after.
Critically discuss the impact of this health inequality on the patient.
Recommend and apply one health policy that can support healthcare to reduce either the inequality or health condition, ensuring you address how the nurse can use this policy to improve safety and quality of care.
Identify a behaviour change that your patient could adopt to improve their own wellbeing and recommend and apply one self-management initiative to your chosen patient/service-user that could support this behaviour change.
Explain one underpinning ethical nursing principle of your chosen self-management initiative
Link your discussion with one or more of the United Nations Sustainable goals.

Maintain confidentiality, referring to the NMC code, and where required, create a pseudonym for your patient.

Submission Details

Your work needs to be submitted on a Word document into your Moodle submission point.

Formatting

Please type in size 12, either ‘Times New Roman’ or ‘Arial’ font.
Double space your work.
You must include an introduction and conclusion, and you may use the subheadings if you find this easier to present and guide your work. Subheadings are not essential.
Appendices are NOT to be used.
Use the full 2000word count. There is a 10% allowance above the word count (2200 words maximum). Work after 2200 words will not be marked. Intext citations are included in the word count. The reference list is not included in the word count.
Any breach of confidentiality will be recorded as a technical fail with a 0% grade.
Submit your cover sheet separately to your assignment.
Follow BCU referencing guidelines for all intext citations and reference list: Referencing - Library & Learning Resources | Birmingham City University (bcu.ac.uk)

Assessment Support

There will be opportunities throughout the module taught content for support with your assignment. For additional support, please see the previous section on ‘Where to get help’

Here are some suggested links to get you started:

Gov.UK (2022) Search-Policy. Available at:policy - Search - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)[Accessed 25 November 2022]

NHS England (2022) Commissioning Policies. Available at: NHS commissioning » Commissioning policies (england.nhs.uk)[Accessed 24 November 2022]

NHS England (2022) Supported self-management. Available at:NHS England » Supported self-management[Accessed 20 November 2022]

United Nations (2022) The 17 Goals. Available at: THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org)[Accessed 11 November 2022]

Note: We expect you to be using other sources beyond these. This is just a starting reference point for you.

Criterion	0-20% Fail	20-39% Fail	40-49%	50-59%	60-69%	70-79%	80-100%
Structure and Organisation	Poor structure and organisation of the assignment, which: Does not address the assignment brief. Difficult to read or follow.	Poor structure and organisation of the assignment, which: No signposting has been provided within the introduction. Discussions and topics are not relevant or incomplete. Sentences do not connect within paragraphs/slides. Does not fully address the assignment brief.	Satisfactory structure and organisation of the assignment, which: Minimal detail is provided regarding signposting set out in the introduction. Discussions and topics at times do not match the introduction. Discussions and topics are relevant but not connected. Discussions and topics at times are repeated throughout the assignment. Sentences within paragraphs/slides present as bullet points of information and lack connection. Addresses the assignment brief.	Good structure and organisation of the assignment, which: Aligns to the signposting set out in the introduction. Discussions and topics are at times connected with some repetition. Some sentences connect within most paragraph/slides. Addresses the assignment brief.	Very good structure and organisation of the assignment, which: Aligns to the signposting set out in the introduction. Most discussions and topics are interconnected. Sentences connect within most paragraph/slides. Addresses the assignment brief.	Excellent structure and organisation of the assignment, which: Aligns to the signposting set out in the introduction. All discussions and topics are interconnected throughout much of the assignment. Sentences connect within each paragraph/slide. Addresses the assignment brief.	Outstanding structure and organisation of the assignment, which: A structure is applied that considers the topics being discussed and rationalises the best way to present this information as outlined in the introduction. All discussions and topics are interconnected throughout all sections of the assignment. All sentences connect within each paragraph/slide throughout. Addresses the assignment brief.

Criterion

0-20%

Fail

20-39%

Fail

40-49%

50-59%

60-69%

70-79%

80-100%

Structure and Organisation

Poor structure and organisation of the assignment, which:

Does not address the assignment brief.
Difficult to read or follow.

Poor structure and organisation of the assignment, which:

No signposting has been provided within the introduction.
Discussions and topics are not relevant or incomplete.
Sentences do not connect within paragraphs/slides.
Does not fully address the assignment brief.

Satisfactory structure and organisation of the assignment, which:

Minimal detail is provided regarding signposting set out in the introduction.
Discussions and topics at times do not match the introduction.
Discussions and topics are relevant but not connected.
Discussions and topics at times are repeated throughout the assignment.
Sentences within paragraphs/slides present as bullet points of information and lack connection.
Addresses the assignment brief.

Good structure and organisation of the assignment, which:

Aligns to the signposting set out in the introduction.
Discussions and topics are at times connected with some repetition.
Some sentences connect within most paragraph/slides.
Addresses the assignment brief.

Very good structure and organisation of the assignment, which:

Aligns to the signposting set out in the introduction.
Most discussions and topics are interconnected.
Sentences connect within most paragraph/slides.
Addresses the assignment brief.

Excellent structure and organisation of the assignment, which:

Aligns to the signposting set out in the introduction.
All discussions and topics are interconnected throughout much of the assignment.
Sentences connect within each paragraph/slide.
Addresses the assignment brief.

Outstanding structure and organisation of the assignment, which:

A structure is applied that considers the topics being discussed and rationalises the best way to present this information as outlined in the introduction.
All discussions and topics are interconnected throughout all sections of the assignment.
All sentences connect within each paragraph/slide throughout.
Addresses the assignment brief.

Communication of Ideas

Poor communication of ideas, which:

Does not always demonstrate an understanding of the subject area.
The meaning of discussions is often unclear.
Content presented is not coherent.

Poor communication of ideas, which:

Does not always demonstrate an understanding of the subject area.
Difficult to follow most of the points being made.
Paragraph/slides are incomplete and do not conclude.
Little connection is made to the assignment title/question.
The conclusion drawn contains inaccuracies or has irrelevant information and does not represent the discussion presented.

Satisfactory communication of ideas, which:

An adequate discussion which demonstrates superficial understanding of the subject area.
Difficulties at times in following points being made.
Some paragraph/slides may include conclusions but do not link.
Some paragraph/slides are considerate of the assignment title/question.
The conclusion drawn communicates adequate understanding of the subject matter but is representative of the discussion presented.

Good communication of ideas, which:

An appropriate discussion which demonstrates a secure understanding of the subject area.
Points are considered independent from each other.
Some paragraph/slides may include conclusions with some links between paragraph/slides.
Each paragraph/slide is considerate of the assignment title/question.
The conclusion drawn communicates appropriate understanding of the subject matter and is representative of the discussion presented.

Very good communication of ideas, which:

A secure narrative/discussion which demonstrates comprehensive understanding of the subject area.
There is a logical flow from each of the points being made.
Most paragraph/slides conclude or link to the next.
Each paragraph/slide is considerate of the assignment title/question.
Connections are made between taught elements and professional practice.
The conclusion drawn communicates secure understanding of the subject matter and is representative of the discussion presented.

Excellent communication of ideas, which:

A convincing narrative /discussion which demonstrates comprehensive understanding of the subject area within the parameters of the module content.
A natural flow from each of the points being made.
Each paragraph/slide concludes and links to the next.
Each paragraph/slide is considerate of the assignment title/question.
Application of the taught elements to professional practice occurs.
The conclusion drawn communicates convincing understanding of the subject matter and is representative of the discussion presented.

Outstanding communication of ideas, which:

A compelling narrative / discussion which demonstrates a complete understanding of the subject area within the parameters of the module content.
A natural flow from each of the points being made.
Each paragraph/slide concludes and links to the next.
Each paragraph/slide is considerate of the assignment title/question.
Application of the taught elements to professional practice occurs.
Connections are made beyond the taught elements of the module.
The conclusion drawn communicates compelling understanding of the subject matter and is representative of the discussion presented.

Application ofknowledge and Critical Thinking Principles

Poor application of knowledge, and critical

Very little, or any, Information taken from source(s).
Content is reduced to student viewpoints and opinions only.

Poor application of knowledge, and critical thinking, which:

Shows inadequate understanding of subject discipline.
Key theories from the immediate field are not referred to throughout the assignment.
Uses incorrect terminology throughout the assignment.
Information taken from source(s) is limited and inappropriate.
Content is reduced to mainly student viewpoints and opinions only.
No attempt to explore material.
Content presented is reduced to the point of producing lists, no attempt to draw conclusion.

Satisfactory application of knowledge, and critical thinking, which:

Shows adequate understanding of subject discipline.
Key theories from the immediate and at times broader field are discussed throughout the assignment.
Appropriate terminology is used inconsistently throughout the assignment.
Information taken from source(s) is explained and used in developing an adequate academic discussion.
Describes viewpoints throughout the assignment.
Evidence of describing ideas within the content presented at times throughout the assignment.
Viewpoints of appropriate authors are offered.

Good application of knowledge, and critical thinking, which:

Shows appropriate understanding of subject discipline.
Key theories from the immediate and at times broader field are discussed throughout the assignment.
Uses appropriate terminology at times throughout of the assignment with minimal inaccuracies.
Information taken from source(s) is explained and used in developing anappropriate academic discussion.
Explores viewpoints throughout the assignment.
Evidence of exploration of ideas within the content presented at times throughout the assignment.
Evidence of consideration of the implications of the content presented at times throughout the assignment.
Viewpoints of appropriate authors are offered and at times are interconnected throughout the

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