Framing the Affordable Healthcare Act: Examining Alternative and Mainstream Media Approaches

In recent times few issues have been as contentious as the Affordable Healthcare Act. This study analyzed media frames between the New York Times and The Alternet.Org ( N = 1772), one mainstream newspaper and one alternative news site, for the year 2012, to examine how two media outlets, different in approach and operational size, reported on the Affordable Healthcare Care Act, to demonstrate that the conflict frame dominated news coverage in both the organizations. Conflict framing emphasizes strife between individuals, and groups, and engenders cynicism which reduces attention to substantive issues. While alternative media is often seen to operate in opposition to mainstream media values, in this case, both mainstream and alterative media chose similar frames of coverage and thus audiences had little recourse to information that could have ensured a better understanding of the policy and its impact.

Redesigning the Affordable Healthcare Program in the Context of Economic Market

Repealing and replacing the Affordable Healthcare Act 2010 (Obamacare) was one of the most controversial issues during and after the U.S. 2016 presidential campaign. The importance of the issue bears on searching for the generally acceptable healthcare program to the American taxpayers. Before the passage of the Act, the United States was the only advanced nation that did not provide affordable healthcare insurance for its citizens. The recognition of the uninsured millions’ healthcare plight, the rising cancellations and premiums of the private insurance policies, and the high healthcare costs led to the Act’s passage.

Human Computer Interaction Trends in Healthcare: An Update

As the medical community evolves, so does its reliance on technology. With the rise of robotic surgery systems, the use of computers in tracking patient in-processing, and now mandates surrounding Electronic Health Records (EHR), it has become prudent to examine these systems as part of their larger sociotechnical systems. As such, an increase in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research in healthcare setting has been seen. A prior trend analysis examined this phenomenon by analyzing specific areas of HCI-healthcare published as HFES proceedings from 1999 until 2009. This paper updates that analysis to explore trends in healthcare proceedings published by HFES from 2009 until 2017, during which time the Affordable Healthcare Act was passed and the HFES healthcare symposia were introduced and hosted separately from the primary annual HFES meetings. Changes in trends and their impact are discussed.

Advancing Community Health Workers Through Higher Education: Lessons Learned From a Basic Certificate Program Implementation

The Affordable Healthcare Act has, among other changes, created greater incentives to reduce health disparities in low-income communities across the country, which heightened the importance and expectations of community health workers (CHWs) as part of the clinical care team. These heightened expectations have begun to transition what has historically been a paraprofessional role into one that involves more clearly defined competencies and development needs. In an effort to meet these needs in the city of Chicago, a CHW basic certificate program was developed and launched at Malcolm X college (one of the seven city Colleges of Chicago), in collaboration with several community partners. This article presents the experience of this program, the challenges faced in its implementation, and lessons from this experience that may be relevant to others involved in the professional preparation of CHWs.