DPH 890 Module 6 The Defense Presentation Example

Twenty Minutes and a Committee: Planning the Defense of a Community Health Worker Capstone

Student Name

Doctor of Public Health Program, Aspen University

DPH 890: Doctor of Public Health Capstone

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Twenty Minutes and a Committee: Planning the Defense of a Community Health Worker Capstone

The defense is the capstone's final test: a short presentation followed by questions from the committee, who decide whether the work meets doctoral standards. A strong defense tells a clear story, presents evidence honestly and shows that the student understands the study's strengths and limits. This paper plans the defense of a capstone evaluating a county's hypertension outreach by community health workers.

Purpose and Audience

The committee has read the manuscript, so the presentation should not repeat it. Its purpose is to show command of the study, covering its importance, methods, findings, meaning and limits. Guests from the health department may attend, so the presentation should also be understandable to practitioners.

Slide Plan

The table outlines the 20-minute presentation.

Telling the Study as a Story

A defense works best as a story with a question, a search for an answer and a resolution. The story begins with residents on the east side, whose blood pressure is often uncontrolled, moves to the question of whether the county's program helps, describes how the student found out and ends with what the county should do. Each slide advances the story.

Showing Results

Results slides rely on figures rather than dense tables: individual-value plots comparing systolic change between groups, a chart of the control gap with its confidence band and a subgroup forest plot. Figures that show distributions and uncertainty communicate more honestly than bars of means (Weissgerber et al., 2015). Each figure has one message stated in the slide title.

Presenting Uncertainty

The headline result is shown with its range: program participants led on control by 10.5 points, plausibly anywhere from about 5 to 16. The E-value is explained in one sentence: an unmeasured factor would need to raise both joining and control by about 74% to explain the result away (VanderWeele & Ding, 2017). This shows awareness of limits without undermining the finding.

Anticipated Questions

Likely questions include: how do you know motivated residents did not simply join? Why not randomize? Why use 140/90 rather than a newer threshold? What would you do differently? How would the county sustain funding? For each, a short answer is prepared, supported by a backup slide where useful. For example, the threshold question is answered by noting that the program and clinics used 140/90 during the study period and that the continuous outcome gives similar conclusions. Answers are practiced aloud so they stay brief.

Questions One Cannot Answer

If a question falls outside what the student knows, the best response is honest: acknowledge it, say how one would find out and relate it to what the study can show. Committees value candor over bluffing.

Rehearsal

The presentation will be rehearsed three times: once alone with a timer, once with a peer who asks hard questions and once with the chair. Rehearsals reveal slides that run long, transitions that confuse and questions that need better answers. Each rehearsal is timed, and slides that run over are cut rather than rushed.

Reporting Standards on Slides

Slides follow the same reporting principles as the manuscript: estimates with intervals, clear labels and sample sizes, and no claims beyond the data (Lang & Altman, 2015). Slides that overstate results invite challenges the student would rather avoid.

Logistics

The defense is held by video conference. The student will test the connection, share slides from a second screen, have the manuscript and backup slides open and ask a colleague to monitor the chat for questions from guests. A printed copy of the slide plan helps if technology fails.

Demeanor

Speaking slowly, pausing after key numbers and looking at the camera help the committee follow. Thanking questioners and answering directly, before elaborating, keeps exchanges focused.

After the Defense

Committees often request revisions. The student will record every requested change, confirm them with the chair and complete revisions within the time allowed. The final manuscript is then submitted according to program requirements.

Opening Strongly

The first minute sets the tone. The presentation opens with a single striking fact, the nine-year life expectancy gap between neighborhoods a few miles apart, and a photograph of a community health worker's home visit, used with permission. The research question follows immediately.

Closing Strongly

The final slide states the answer to the research question in one sentence, lists three recommendations and thanks the committee, participants and partners. Ending with the answer rather than a generic thank-you slide leaves the committee with the key message.

Backup Slides

Backup slides hold detail the committee may request: the balance table, full sensitivity results, model specifications, interview guide and a map of neighborhoods. Having them ready allows precise answers without cluttering the main presentation.

Honoring Participants

The presentation acknowledges the residents and community health workers whose experiences made the study possible. Brief, anonymous quotations bring their voices into the room and remind the committee of the study's purpose.

Presenting to a Mixed Audience

Health department guests may attend. Brief plain-language explanations of methods, such as describing matching as finding similar residents who did not join, help them follow without slowing the committee.

Time Management During Questions

Questions may run 30 to 40 minutes. Answers should be concise, usually under two minutes, with an offer to elaborate. If several questions come at once, the student will note them and answer in turn.

Technology Backup

If the video connection fails, the student will call in by phone and ask the chair to share the slides from the copy submitted in advance. Sending slides to the chair a day before the defense makes this possible.

Reflecting Afterward

After the defense, the student will note which questions were hardest and which answers worked. These notes help with revisions and prepare the student for presenting findings to other audiences.

Conclusion

A well-planned defense tells the study's story in 20 minutes, presents results with honest figures and intervals, explains limits simply and prepares for the committee's hardest questions. Rehearsal, clear logistics and candor under questioning allow the student to demonstrate command of the capstone and move toward its completion.

References

Lang, T. A., & Altman, D. G. (2015). Basic statistical reporting for articles published in biomedical journals: The "Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Published Literature" or the SAMPL guidelines. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52(1), 5-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.09.006

VanderWeele, T. J., & Ding, P. (2017). Sensitivity analysis in observational research: Introducing the E-value. Annals of Internal Medicine, 167(4), 268-274. https://doi.org/10.7326/M16-2607

Weissgerber, T. L., Milic, N. M., Winham, S. J., & Garovic, V. D. (2015). Beyond bar and line graphs: Time for a new data presentation paradigm. PLOS Biology, 13(4), Article e1002128. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002128