Community Assessment Part 2
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
Community Assessment Part 2
- Introduction
- Community Assessment and Why They are Important
Improving the health of the community is the central role of public health nurses. To be able to execute their roles effectively, public health nurses must first evaluate epidemiological data and demographic statistics of the community to identify its strengths and weaknesses and to determine the health needs of its residents (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). Nies and McEwen (2019) define community assessment as the process of identifying a public setting or an aggregate followed by the incorporation of data collection and epidemiological approaches to identify its health needs and ability to address them. Community assessment is one of the important aspects of public health nursing. Public health nurses need the comprehensive data collected during community assessment to make a nursing diagnosis (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2019). Besides, the data guides public health nurses to select effective community-based interventions to address existing health needs.
- The BSN’s Role in Community Health
Baccalaureate Science Nursing (BSN) nurses play a crucial role in community health. According to Farris (2021), BSN nurses have received education and training that they can apply to influence health promotion and disease prevention activities to help create healthy communities. They can collect and monitor weekly demographic statistics and epidemiological data for communities and apply their clinical judgment skills to propose community-based health promotion interventions. Additionally, BSN nurses can utilize the data collected from community assessment to provide direct care to community residents, educate the community about disease prevention, initiate wellness programs, and conduct research to generate new knowledge for improving community health.
- Community Assessment (Arlington City, Texas)
- The Key Findings From Part 1
The assessment of Arlington City generated key findings relevant to community health nursing. The key findings are the specific health needs that the public health nurse should guide the community to address. One of the key findings is that the populations of children and the elderly are rising at a rapid rate and there is a lack of economic and social support for them. Additionally, there are few medical facilities, and poor roads are making most of these facilities inaccessible. A community assessment of Arlington City further revealed that residents have a limited understanding of basic traffic rules. This is a safety concern as it contributes to accidents. Again, there is a lack of emergency preparedness despite the fact that the region is prone to natural calamities such as earthquakes and volcanos. High rates of school dropout are preventing residents from receiving an adequate education, especially among young girls. Arlington City also lacks recreational facilities for adults and the elderly which predisposes them to the risk of developing chronic illnesses.
- Key Points from the Windshield Assessment
Key points from the Windshield assessment describe the strengths and weaknesses of Arlington City. The Windshield Assessment revealed that Arlington City has numerous strengths that enhance its capacity to address the identified health needs. One of the strengths is that Arlington City has adequate space for infrastructural development. Additionally, it has separate highways for people with disability which enhance public safety. Again, the availability of both formal and informal means of communication encourages the exchange of information among residents. Besides, Arlington city has a House Representative who can facilitate policy reforms related to the provision of health insurance for the elderly and children as well as those that encourage funding for hospital construction and road development.
However, Arlington City has some weaknesses that limit its capacity to address the identified health needs. One of the weaknesses of Arlington City is that its slow pace of development has made the city retain its suburban status for several years. Additionally, high rates of unemployment are preventing residents from purchasing quality foods and from paying medical bills, especially for people without health insurance. Moreover, poor infrastructural development contributes to the poor network which prevents emergency communication. It is also contributing to poor roads that make healthcare facilities inaccessible and is the reason for the lack of recreational activities for adults and the elderly. The public health nurse can work with other stakeholders to prevent these weaknesses from affecting the city’s ability to address the existing health needs.
- Community Diagnosis
- Wellness Diagnosis For the Community Assessed Based on the Identified Needs, Strengths, and Weaknesses.
- Readiness for enhanced understanding of basic traffic rules.
- Readiness for enhanced health literacy.
- Risk Diagnoses For the Community Assessed Based on the Identified Needs, Strengths, And Weaknesses.
- Risk for developing chronic illnesses, especially among adults and the elderly
- Risk for severe impacts of natural disasters.
- Recommendations
- Recommendations for Community-Level Interventions Based on the Chosen Community Diagnosis.
- Educate the community about basic traffic rules.
- Educate the community about healthy living, health promotion, and the importance of behavior change.
- Advocate for the creation of recreational facilities for adults and the elderly.
- Work with stakeholders to develop disaster preparedness plans for the community.
- Rationale
The proposed recommendations are aligned with the Healthy People 2030 goals and objectives. Again, their effectiveness in improving community health is supported by evidence-based research. Healthy People 2030 goals targeting emergency preparedness and injury prevention can be achieved by developing disaster preparedness plans and by teaching the community about basic traffic rules respectively (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2022). Additionally, health literacy, as well as public health infrastructures such as recreational facilities for adults/the elderly, are key determinants of health which when improved will address the health needs of Arlington City residents (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2022).
Farris C. (2021). COVID-19 updates: Real-time epidemiology for BSN community/public health nursing course. Public Health Nursing (Boston, Mass.), 38(4), 655–660. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12890
Nies, M. A. & McEwen, M. (2019). Community/public health nursing. 7th ed. Elsevier Inc.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2022). Healthy People 2030: Browse objectives. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives
Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2014). Foundations of nursing in the community, community-oriented practice. (4th ed.). Mosby/Elsevier.
Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2019). Public health nursing e-book: Population-centered health care in the community. 10th ed. Elsevier Health Sciences.