Community Assessment Summary and Reflection

Community Assessment Summary and Reflection

NUR 405/Healthy Communities: Theory and Practice

Community Assessment Summary and Reflection

                Providing community health nursing services requires a comprehensive assessment of the community. Valuable information and data collected during this clinical activity can be used to identify the health-related needs of the community and evaluate the need for additional community health services. This assignment was very interesting and unique because it enabled me to further examine the community in which my selected family and I live in. Visiting and studying the community that I chose gave me quite the insight on various issues that, had it not been for this assignment, I may not have picked up on before.

The Role of Community/Public Health Nursing

According to Stanhope & Lancaster (2012), nursing has numerous roles in the community including identifying vulnerable individuals and families through outreach and case findings, encouraging vulnerable groups to obtain health services, developing programs that respond to their needs, and teaching vulnerable individuals, families and groups different strategies to prevent illness and promote health. Community and public health nurses provide health education, manage care and could also serve as primary care to individuals and families who are members of vulnerable populations and high risk groups. Public health nursing focuses on the health of entire populations, reflects community priorities and needs, establishes caring relationships with communities, systems, individuals and families. Public Health Nursing Practice is grounded in social justice, compassion, sensitivity to diversity, and respect for the worth of all people, especially the vulnerable population (Keller, Strohschein & Schaffer, 2011).

Influence of Cultural Diversity and Vulnerable Population

        Cultural diversity plays a major role in influencing overall community health and ethnic minority groups are considered vulnerable populations in most communities. There is a large group of Hispanics in the Buena Park area, approximately 31.25%. During my community assessment and visits to different service centers, I did notice a large percentage of Hispanic residents taking advantage services offered in the area. In the senior center, for example, they actually offer English classes to a group of Spanish-speaking residents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading causes of deaths among Hispanics include heart disease, diabetes and stroke. The prevalence of obesity among female Mexican American adults during 2007–2010 was larger than the prevalence among female white, non-Hispanic adults during the same years and in 2010, the largest prevalence of diabetes were among Hispanic and non-Hispanic African American adults compared with prevalence among white, non-Hispanic and Asian adults (CDC, 2014). Armed with this information, public health nurses are responsible for assessing and recognizing health risks for cultures within the community