| Course | DDHA 9500 DHA Project Prospectus |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 3 |
| Paper type | Significance paragraph with rationale |
| Length | About 510 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Doctor of Healthcare Administration (DHA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DDHA 9500 Week 3
Significance: Who Gains When Ambulance Crews Are Released Sooner, How Many, and Where the Published Figures Run Out
Student Name
Walden University
DDHA 9500: DHA Project Prospectus
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Significance: Who Gains When Ambulance Crews Are Released Sooner, How Many, and Where the Published Figures Run Out
Significance
Three groups stand to benefit if the relationship between inpatient boarding and ambulance offload time is understood well enough to act on. The first is the population of the county the system serves, about 410,000 residents in this composite case, whose ambulance response depends on crews not being held at hospitals; offload delay removes units from service, and a review of the literature found that delays are linked to reduced ambulance availability in the communities affected (Li et al., 2019). The second is patients arriving by ambulance, about 41,000 a year at the system's three emergency departments according to its own records, whose care begins in a corridor when offload is delayed. The third is the health system, which carries the reputational and regulatory exposure of holding crews and the operational cost of patients receiving care outside a treatment space. Published figures show that the problem is widespread and unevenly distributed: California's statewide reporting shows offload times differing greatly from one agency to the next (Feldmeier et al., 2024), and a follow-up study found that offload times differed with the racial and socioeconomic makeup of hospitals' patient populations (Shteyler et al., 2025). No published figure exists for this county or this state, and the system's own data have never been assembled; producing that figure is part of what the project would contribute.
How the Paragraph Answers Its Three Questions
Who benefits is answered first and by group, not as "everyone." Residents come first because they bear the effect without ever entering a hospital, which is the feature that makes offload delay a community issue rather than an internal workflow problem. Patients on stretchers come second, and the organization third, since its interest follows from the first two.
Scale is expressed with figures wherever they exist. The county population and the annual count of ambulance arrivals come from the composite system's own records and are labeled as such. The published studies supply scale beyond the system: one shows the problem across a large state and one shows that it falls unevenly. Neither is presented as a figure for this county.
The honest sentence comes last. Rather than borrowing another state's numbers or estimating a local figure the data cannot support, the paragraph says that no published figure exists here and turns that absence into part of the project's value. A significance section that hides a missing figure invites the first question a committee member will ask; one that names it shows the writer knows the evidence.
What Significance Does Not Claim
The paragraph does not claim that reducing offload delay saves lives, because the project will not measure patient outcomes and the literature on that link is thinner than the literature on ambulance availability. It does not claim that boarding causes offload delay, which is the question the project asks rather than a premise it assumes. Keeping those claims out keeps the significance section consistent with what the purpose and approach can deliver.
References
Feldmeier, M., Reyes, K. P., Chen, C., Sporer, K. A., Konik, Z., Garzón, H., & Hsia, R. Y. (2024). Patterns in California ambulance patient offload times by local emergency medical services agency. JAMA Network Open, 7(12), Article e2451022. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.51022
Li, M., Vanberkel, P., & Carter, A. J. E. (2019). A review on ambulance offload delay literature. Health Care Management Science, 22(4), 658-675. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-018-9450-x
Shteyler, V. M., Feldmeier, M., Bagay, R. J. G., Ballard, D., Colwell, C., & Hsia, R. Y. (2025). Racial and socioeconomic disparities in California ambulance patient offload times. JAMA Network Open, 8(5), Article e2510325. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10325
DDHA 9500 Week 3 instructions, in plain terms
Significance assignments usually ask why your project matters, and the challenge is to answer without vagueness. Answer three questions in order. First, who benefits, named as specific groups rather than "everyone." Second, at what scale, using published figures attributed to an agency or study and year wherever they exist. Third, where no figure exists for your setting, say so in a plain sentence instead of borrowing a number from elsewhere or estimating one the data cannot support. Keep internal figures clearly labeled as internal. Avoid claims your project will not test, such as effects on patient outcomes if you will not measure them. One paragraph is usually enough; a short explanation of your choices can follow if your section allows it.
How this DDHA 9500 Week 3 example is built
The paragraph opens with the three groups who would benefit and explains why residents come first. It gives the county population and the annual count of ambulance arrivals as internal figures, then cites Li and colleagues on ambulance availability, Feldmeier and colleagues on variation in California and Shteyler and colleagues on uneven distribution by patient population. It closes by stating that no local figure exists and that creating one is part of the project's value. A rationale section explains how each question was answered and why the honest sentence matters to a committee. A final section notes the claims left out: that reducing delay saves lives and that boarding causes delay, which is the project's question rather than its premise.
DDHA 9500 Week 3 rubric: what earns full marks
Significance sections are judged on concreteness and honesty. Markers look for beneficiaries named as groups, with the reasoning for their order. Scale should be supported by attributed figures where they exist, and fabricated or borrowed precision costs credit. An explicit statement of missing data is often viewed favorably, because it shows the writer knows the evidence. The section should not promise effects the project will not measure, and it should remain consistent with the purpose and approach. Brief, precise writing earns more than a long list of possible benefits. Citations must be accurate, and internal figures should be labeled as such so a reader can distinguish them from published ones.
DDHA 9500 Week 3 help: mistakes that cost marks
The commonest weakness is a significance paragraph that says the project will improve care, save money and help patients, without naming whom or how much. Pick the groups and order them. Find published figures, and attribute each one. When no figure exists, say so; it is better than guessing. Do not claim outcomes you will not measure. Keep the paragraph consistent with your purpose statement, which a committee will read next. If you want help shaping the significance argument for your own project, we can write a draft from your notes and sources.
Get a DDHA 9500 Week 3 example written to your instructions
Submit the prompt, the rubric and the problem paragraph the brief has to follow, and a significance paragraph with attributed figures and no invented ones comes back to you. There is no charge for the first one, and it takes 24 to 48 hours. Internal cost or volume data belonging to an employer stays with the employer and out of the writing.
More DDHA 9500 papers and DHA samples
- DDHA 9500 Week 1: Topic Narrowing Post
- DDHA 9500 Week 2: Problem Statement
- DDHA 9500 Week 4: Purpose Statement
- DDHA 9500 Week 5: Peer Critique
- DDHA 9500 Week 6: Literature Summary
- DDHA 9500 Week 7: Approach Outline
- DDHA 9500 Week 8: Feasibility Memo
- DDHA 9500 Week 9: Alignment Check
- DDHA 9500 Week 10: Prospectus Draft
- DDHA 9500 Week 11: Revision Plan
- DDHA 8801 Week 3: Competitor Review
- DDHA 8703 Week 3: Data Source Review
- DDHA 8601 Week 3: Technology Evaluation
- DDHA 8503 Week 3: Causal Loop Analysis
DDHA 9500 Week 3 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DDHA 9500 Week 3 sample paper?
The significance paragraph and its rationale for the offload project are free to read here.
Who benefits according to the DDHA 9500 Week 3 example?
County residents waiting for ambulances, about 41,000 patients a year arriving by ambulance and the health system itself.
Which published figures does the paragraph use?
California agency data showing wide variation and a study showing offload times differ by hospitals' patient populations.
What does the paragraph say about local figures?
That none exists for the county, and producing one is part of the project's contribution.
What does the section deliberately not claim?
That reducing offload delay saves lives, or that boarding causes delay, since the project will not test either.