| Course | HLTH 9101 Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 6 |
| Paper type | Terminology audit |
| Length | About 510 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | PhD in Public Health |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HLTH 9101 Week 6
Terminology Audit: Following the Word "Telehealth" From the Title of a Composite Dissertation Past the Last Appendix and Into the Claims File, and Finding That It Means Three Things
Student Name
Walden University
HLTH 9101: Dissertation
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Terminology Audit: Following the Word "Telehealth" From the Title of a Composite Dissertation Past the Last Appendix and Into the Claims File, and Finding That It Means Three Things
Why Audit One Word
In a long document, a key term can change meaning without anyone deciding it should. This composite county study's outcome is telehealth, and the word appears 214 times across five chapters and three appendices. This audit follows it from the title to the claims file behind the outcome and records what it means in each place.
Three Meanings
Three meanings emerge: video only, in the problem statement and discussion; any remote visit including audio-only, in the outcome definition, code list and findings; and varying meanings in the literature chapter.
Table 1
What "Telehealth" Means Across the Document
| Location | Usage | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Title and abstract | "telehealth use for behavioral health" | Any remote visit | |
| Chapter 1, problem statement | "video visits that bring therapists into older adults' homes" | Video only | |
| Chapter 2, literature | Mixed; cites studies of video, telephone and both | Varies by source | |
| Chapter 3, outcome definition | Remote place-of-service and telehealth modifier codes | Any remote modality, including audio-only billed this way | |
| Appendix B, code list | Includes audio-only modifiers 93 and FQ | Audio-only explicitly included | |
| Chapter 4, findings | "telehealth share" | Any remote visit | |
| Chapter 5, discussion | "broadband enables older adults to see their therapists online" | Video only | |
Locations and wording are from the composite dissertation's current draft.
Why It Matters for the Broadband Argument
The drift is not harmless. The study's argument is that broadband enables telehealth. That argument applies to video, which requires a fast connection, far more than to audio-only care, which requires a telephone. Pandemic records from one academic system showed phone-only care for a large minority of remote patients, with weak neighborhood internet steering people away from video (Chen et al., 2022). If the outcome includes audio-only visits, as the claims definition does, the association with broadband is diluted and the discussion's claim about seeing therapists online overstates what was measured.
Patel et al. (2021) documented how heavily mental health care shifted to telemedicine after 2020, which means audio-only visits may make up a large share of the outcome. The audit therefore matters for the size and meaning of the estimate, not only for wording.
Repairs
1. Define telehealth once, in chapter 1, as any behavioral health visit delivered remotely by video or telephone, matching the claims definition.
2. Use "video visit" and "audio-only visit" whenever modality matters, and never use "telehealth" to mean video alone.
3. Report the video-only outcome as a secondary analysis and frame the broadband hypothesis around it.
4. Revise the discussion so that claims about seeing therapists online refer only to the video outcome.
5. Add a glossary entry and check the term again in the full-document read.
Lesson
Booth et al. (2016) advise writers to define key terms and use them consistently, because readers assume a repeated word means the same thing each time. In a dissertation, that assumption is tested over hundreds of pages.
References
Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., Williams, J. M., Bizup, J., & FitzGerald, W. T. (2016). The craft of research (4th ed.). University of Chicago Press.
Chen, J., Li, K. Y., Andino, J., Hill, C. E., Ng, S., Steppe, E., & Ellimoottil, C. (2022). Predictors of audio-only versus video telehealth visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(5), 1138-1144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-07172-y
Patel, S. Y., Mehrotra, A., Huskamp, H. A., Uscher-Pines, L., Ganguli, I., & Barnett, M. L. (2021). Trends in outpatient care delivery and telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. JAMA Internal Medicine, 181(3), 388-391. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.5928
Reading the HLTH 9101 Week 6 instructions
Students audit how one key term is used across their dissertation. Faculty expect the audit to follow the term through every chapter and appendix and, where possible, into the data that define it, recording what the term means in each place. The strongest audits show not only that usage varies but why the variation matters for the study's argument and estimates. A table of locations, wording and meanings makes the drift visible. Faculty value audits that end with specific repairs: a single definition, consistent alternative terms where distinctions matter, changes to analyses if needed and a plan to check the term again. Literature that shows why the distinction matters strengthens the audit, and a brief reflection on how terms drift completes it.
Inside the HLTH 9101 Week 6 example
The audit opens by counting the term's appearances and explaining why one word deserves a full audit. Table 1 lists seven locations, from title to code appendix, with the wording and meaning in each. A paragraph names the three meanings. A section explains why the drift matters, citing Chen and colleagues on phone-only visits and broadband, and Patel and colleagues on the shift in mental health care, and notes that including audio-only visits dilutes the broadband association. Five numbered repairs cover a single definition, use of video and audio-only labels, a secondary video analysis, revised discussion claims and a glossary entry. A closing paragraph cites Booth and colleagues on consistent terms.
Where the marks sit in the HLTH 9101 Week 6 rubric
Depth matters more than breadth in this audit. Listing many terms with brief notes rarely finds the drift that matters; following one term into the data definition does. Graders reward audits that connect the variation in meaning to the study's argument, showing how it could change an estimate or a claim. A table of every usage makes the finding verifiable. The repair list scores best when it reaches the analysis itself, such as adding a video-only outcome, rather than stopping at word choice. Accurate use of literature that explains why the distinction matters adds weight. A plan to recheck the term in a later read shows awareness that drift can return.
Common HLTH 9101 Week 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Terminology checks often scan for inconsistent capitalization or abbreviations and stop there. To run a stronger audit, choose the one term your argument depends on most, usually the outcome or exposure. Search for every use. Record what it means in each chapter, and then check the data definition behind it. Look for places where the meaning narrows or widens. Ask how that change affects your argument or estimate. Propose a single definition, alternative terms for distinctions you need and any analytic change. Schedule a recheck. A terminology audit for the key term in your dissertation can be written from your manuscript.
Get a HLTH 9101 Week 6 example written to your instructions
Name the term you want chased and send the whole manuscript, including any data dictionary behind your measures, with the Week 6 prompt and rubric. The audit follows it into the data, labels each sense, explains the consequences and fixes the term by what your measure counts. Free the first time, due within 24 to 48 hours. The claims file is imagined.
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HLTH 9101 Week 6 questions, answered
Why chase one term instead of all of them?
Because depth finds what breadth misses. Sweeping every term tends to stop at the prose, while following one term can reach the definition in a data dictionary or instrument, where its meaning is actually set. The example found its most important problem there. Choose the term your argument leans on hardest, usually the outcome or exposure, and audit others later if time allows.
What if the data define a term more broadly than my research question?
Then either the question widens to match the data, or an analysis narrows the data to match the question, and the document says which. The example keeps telehealth broad to match its file and uses a sensitivity analysis restricted to video visits to address the narrower sense. Redefining a term in prose without changing the measure only hides the mismatch.
Should terms from cited studies be changed to mine?
Not in quotations or titles. When you describe a study in your own words, use your term if the study's meaning matches it, and keep the study's term, flagged, if it does not. The example retires telemedicine in its own prose but leaves it in cited titles. A reader comparing sources needs to know when two studies measured different things.
Where can I find a free HLTH 9101 Week 6 sample paper?
This page holds the complete Week 6 terminology audit, following "telehealth" through a composite dissertation into its claims definition and finding three meanings, with three references.
Why does the meaning of telehealth matter for the broadband argument?
Video visits need a good internet connection, while audio-only visits need only a telephone. If the outcome counts both but the argument is about video, the broadband association is diluted and claims about seeing therapists online overstate the evidence.