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Sample Community Health Paper
Community Health Nursing (Bsn) (NURS 4240)
Albany State University
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Community Assessment Project Sanjay Patel Albany State University
Assessment The Community Core The core of a community refers to the people of the community. Through a windshield survey, observations were made while driving in the community and data was gathered. Subcategories to describe the core of a community include demographics, history, ethnicity, values, and beliefs. The city of Camilla, Georgia is a small rural city that is supported by industry and agribusiness. The estimated population of Camilla is 5,030 residents within 6 square miles (United States Census Bureau, 2018). The racial distribution of Camilla is 73% African American, 24% White, and 1% Asian (United States Census Bureau, 2018). In the south side of the city, there were old neighborhoods in the area. These neighborhoods had been there for over 50 years. Camilla Atlanta Population estimate 5030 486, White alone % 24% 40% African American Alone % 73% 52% Asian Alone 1% 4% Median household income $31,121 $49, Poverty % 33% 24% Unemployment % 6% 4% (United States Census Bureau, 2018) The community seems to be very segregated from the eye in one part of town. There are some neighborhoods with predominantly elderly, white people. The other part of town had predominantly African American people with a broad age range from babies to elderly. There are not a lot of other racial/ethnic groups besides Asian Indian couples that owned several convenience stores in Camilla. During the windshield survey, no other ethnic groups were found besides Asian Indian. There were various churches noted throughout Camilla. There were three
have a small library, and the private school has an accelerated reading program. There is not a school nurse for each individual school as there is in bigger cities and counties. Rather, there is one nurse that comes in as needed and is not their full time. The transportation and safety of Camilla includes the Camilla Public Safety Department. The people in Camilla usually rely on their own use of vehicles to get around. I did not see any forms of public transit or taxi services. The Camilla Police Department appeared small and only two police cars were in the area at the time. I talked to a couple of people in Camilla, and they said crime is not a serious issue besides petty theft. The politics and government of Camilla include the City Council. The city council is the legislative authority of the government of the City of Camilla (City of Camilla, 2007). The council has a total of six members that are elected into office (City of Camilla, 2007). Each council member can vote to put ordinances in place. I talked to several people, and they claimed change is small and rarely happens. The people of Camilla rarely vote and are not involved due to the feeling of having no power. The health and social services of Camilla, Georgia include only two primary care offices, the county health department, and a small hospital. All of these resources are for the residents of of typically the surrounding cities in Mitchell County. About a third of the population is in poverty and are typically on Medicaid/Medicare based on conversations with doctors in the area. There are several pharmacies in the area. There are no signs of mental health hospitals or homeless shelters. As I traveled through the area, I noticed an abundance of obese adults and children.
Communication of Camilla, Georgia is limited. There are no common areas for the community to come together and discuss issues other than city hall. Formal means of communication includes the Camilla Enterprise, the newspaper that is operated by Camilla residents. Another form of communication includes TV news programs that are being utilized in southwest Georgia. The economy of Camilla is diversified as it ranges from industry, agriculture, service, and retail. The poverty rate is at 33% and the median household income is $31,121 (United States Census Bureau, 2018). The unemployment rate is 6%, which is 1% higher than the national average (United States Census Bureau, 2018). The people of Camilla said the community is not thriving. Only big businesses are being used, and small businesses are shut down within a year. Majority of shopping occurs in Walmart or Dollar General. There are not any malls or shopping centers in the area. Interviews
I had an opportunity to interview Dr. Patel, a pediatrician working in a primary care office in Camilla. Dr. Patel had worked in Camilla for 20 years and is a favorite go-to doctor for the Camilla residents. Dr. Patel describes the Camilla population as poor and that there is a lack of education amongst the community. This gap in education makes it difficult for various age groups to follow instructions when taking medications, making lifestyle changes, and changing diets and exercise routines. Dr. Patel monitors infant growth and immunization schedules. He educates parents about proper diet and care. He tries to implement positive lifestyle changes in relation to physical activity, diet, and other areas that impact health issues. Dr. Patel told me that his practice is at max capacity of patients. He wants to expand the practice to include another pediatrician, but there are not enough resources to do this. He also mentioned that
school is known to let people move on to the next grades even though they have not performed well in classes. There are no SAT or ACT preparatory classes or college guidance counselor. I asked him to describe physical activity of students and the school lunch program. He describes that physical activity classes such as PE are not required daily or even weekly. They are required one semester out of all of high school. He also says the school’s lunch program is not the best, and it classifies pizza as a vegetable. There are not a lot of food choices besides the vending machines in the cafeteria that have chips and candy bars. Fruits and vegetables were lacking. Most people would turn to fast food after school. Community Diagnosis and Goals Based on data from the Georgia Department of Public Health, a total of 80 major cardiovascular disease-related deaths occurred out of 233 total deaths in 2016 (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2018). This indicates that 34 % of deaths in this community are caused by and related to cardiovascular disease. This is higher than both the Georgia rate and national rate. In general, Mitchell County has a ranking of one of the highest mortality levels in GA and exceeds in the heart disease rates as well (Archbold, 2016). According to Oasis in the Georgia Department of Public Health (2018), the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is also significantly higher in this community in comparison to Georgia. During my windshield survey, I took note of the common trend of obesity in children and adolescents in Camilla. I did not see many signs of physical activity or children playing outside. I did note one child on a hover board at one point, but this was all I saw. I also noticed majority of the adults are overweight and obese in Camilla. There needs to be a push to identify risk factors for these chronic diseases, methods to prevent further damage, and need for compliance with treatment regimens once the chronic disease is prevalent.
Age # of deaths caused by major cardiovascular disease 35-44 3 45-54 7 55-64 12 65-74 24 75-84 14 85+ 20 (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2018) Based on this information, the community nursing diagnosis that was chosen is related to chronic disease prevalence: The residents of Camilla, Georgia and Mitchell county have an increased prevalence for chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia related to the lack of health resources, shortage of healthcare providers, and gap in education as evidenced by understaffed primary care offices, uninsured members in the community, lack of alternate grocery stores (farmers markets), scarcity of recreational areas for adults and children, and lack of physical activity and food choices in school systems. Goal 1: Increase the amount of time spent on physical activity in the community per day by 20% by the following year. Goal 2: Increase number of people within the at-risk population screened for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia by 20% the following year. Interventions
Primary: Form a recreational club where members of the community can join to increase physical activity to a minimum of 30 minutes a day up to an hour to prevent chronic diseases. Primary: Implement a mandatory physical education program to all levels of education to a
chronic diseases. The assessment included observations that included lack of physical activity in the community and lack of recreational areas. Also, the interviews included information on lack of physical activity in schools and lack of compliance with physical activity at the doctor’s office. It is evident that this trend leads to chronic diseases. Therefore, the community nursing diagnosis included the prevalence of chronic diseases and how physical activity remained a factor in the high occurrence of deaths caused by these chronic diseases. One of the objectives discussed in healthy people 2020 mentions the healthy people target of increasing the proportion of adults and adolescents that meet the physical activity guidelines for aerobic and musclestrengthening activity (U Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). This is one of their goals which relates to our goal in increasing the amount of time spent on physical activity in the community per day by 20% by the following year. Some of our interventions targeted this goal which also targets the Healthy People 2020 objective. The interventions that include forming a recreational club, implementing a physical education program in schools, and forming a health festival all contribute to reaching this specific Healthy People 2020 objective/target. By implementing these interventions, our goals can be met while meeting Healthy People 2020 guidelines over time and improving overall health. References Archbold. (2016). 2016-2017 Community health needs assessment, mitchell county, key health issues and implementation plan. Retrieved from archbold/uploads/groups /3/documents/Mitchell-KeyHealthIssues-2016-Aug18 City of Camilla. (2007). City Council. Retrieved from camillaga/ government.city.citycouncil Georgia Department of Public Health. (2018). Online analytical statistical information system
(oasis), mortality web query. [Date file]. Retrieved from oasis.state.ga/oasis /webquery/qryMortality United States Census Bureau. (2018). QuickFacts. camilla city, georgia; mitchell county) Georgia. [Data file]. Retrieved from census/quickfacts /fact/table /camillacitygeorgia,mitchellcountygeorgia/PST U Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Healthy people 2020, physical activity. Retrieved from healthypeople/2020 /topics- objectives /topic /physical-activity
Sample Community Health Paper
Course: Community Health Nursing (Bsn) (NURS 4240)
University: Albany State University
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