Faculty-Student Research Delves into Affordable Care Act

According to the findings of a BW student-faculty research project, only about 40 percent of young people say they know anything at all about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (also known as "ObamaCare"). Senior Jesper Zuber partnered with Dr. Dr. Emilia Lombardi, assistant professor of Health & Physical Education, for her project, "Young Adults and their Beliefs about the Affordable Care Act, "as a part of BW’s Faculty-Student Collaboration Program.

As a part of their study, Jesper and Dr. Lombardi collected an internet-based convenience sample of nearly 100 young people between the ages of 18 and 32, asking about their current and future health insurance status, and their attitudes and opinions about the new health care law.

Based on their findings, the BW researchers recommend that greater resources and easy to understand information be made available to young people. Zuber presented the results of her study at Ovation.

Zuber said “The faculty-student collaboration has been a liberating experience for me. I gained a different perspective on myself as a student and a professional. It helped to enhanced my problem solving skills and gave me a greater ability to work under pressure."