Windshield Survey of the Community, Case Study Example

Please complete the following information about your community (i.e. zip code).

Physical environment: Describe the following elements that you see in the community

1. Briefly describe the selected community in terms of area, location, boundaries, etc:

This area is located in the northern part of the Florida state and it consists of the coast along which the state borders with the Atlantic Ocean. The area consists of several in homes and business centers that in general make life full in the area.

2. Describe the housing (i.e. what type of houses –single family, multifamily; estimate %.) do you see? What is the condition of these homes?

The houses are varied in type. Most areas have multifamily houses and these constitute about 80%. Taking the Light House drive for example, the houses in around are well maintained indicating a good living standards by the inhabitants.

Ongoing construction are evident in this area, the environment is good with buildings, public areas and roadways well maintained. No traces of graffiti, debris as well as are noted in the area

The Hummingbird Way drives through areas with the single family houses. These homes are also well maintained.

3. Describe indicators of growth or decline (i.e. is this a “thriving” community or does it feel “run down”?) and what evidence supports this? Is there new or ongoing construction? Are buildings, roadways, and public areas clean and well-kept, or do you see dirt, trash and debris or graffiti? What are the places for employment in this community? What industries exist in the area?

This community is indeed a thriving community considering the level of road maintenance kept in this region. The roads here are well maintained and the home grounds appear clean with no dirty scattered all over the fields. The business centers in this region are known to charge higher prices on goods and commodities as compared to the other shopping centers around the region.

The existence of the beach hotels and resorts is an indication that the area is thriving in terms of business for they are luxurious and of high level. These attract guests who add more revenue in the region.

4. Other:

There are also golf clubs and other entertainment spots that characterize the region. In addition there are several parks manifest as one drives on Ronald Reagan Turnpike.

People: Describe the following people that you see in the community

1. Describe community members including demographic info: age, sex, race and ethnicity (i.e. what sorts of people do you see: young, old, male, female, single families, multiple families, generational families, etc? estimate %.)

The people in this region constitute a mixture of races. Demographics in this respect has taken account of age, sex, race along with ethnicity. The population comprises of males, females, single families, multiple families and also generational families. In most places I have driven, whites were the majority and they could account for about sixty-five per cent of all the people in the community. Most people here belong to multiple families. The majority over the inhabitant in this community are over 20 years with only about thirty per cent being below the age of thirty years of age. Looking at hair styles, clothing, languages and restaurants, the community in this region is diverse.

2. Does the population in the surrounding community seem to be homogeneous or diverse (as evidenced by – for example – hair styles, clothing, signs in languages other than English, restaurants, festivals, etc.)?

The community in the region seems to be highly homogenous. The hotels and resorts in this region for example, offer services that are in most cases intended for the people with the same preference.

Diversity, however, is manifest to some extent in the manner in which the youth if the community carry out themselves. The youth from the regions in which there are a majority of the multifamily set-ups behave different as compared to those who come from the regions in which there are a lot of single family set ups. Those who come from the low income earners section appear to be fond of upholding a certain fashion in hairstyles.

3. Describe healthy lifestyle behaviors observed (i.e. exercise, relaxation, healthy eating, wearing helmets when biking, seat belt usage, etc.). Note the age, ethnicity, and race of persons (estimate %) observed participating in healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Driving around the roads in the community gives one a chance to encounter people of older age engaging in some exercises. This happens early in the morning. The young ones engage in the exercises during the evening hours in the various parks and exercise centers.

Healthy lifestyle behaviors such as drinking, smoking and fighting are uncommon. Rather, people are aware of their safety as evidenced by exercise, relaxation, healthy eating, wearing helmets when biking, and use of seat belt usage.

4. Describe any health and/or safety risk behaviors observed (i.e. what are the lifestyle risk behaviors of people). Do you see drinking, smoking, fighting, etc.? Do you see overweight/underweight people? Are there indications of safety concerns including: signs of violence, gang, graffiti, drug, and/or criminal activities, bars on windows, etc.? Note the age, ethnicity, race of persons observed (estimate %).

A greater number of the inhabitants in the community are overweight and this serves as a health risk. There seems, however, to be no safety risks in the area for the windows in most homes do not have bars and even in some cases are not closed. Indications of safety concerns including violence, gang, graffiti, drug, and other criminal activities are not a common occurrence.

5. Describe any indicators of people living in poverty:

The southern section of the region in which the community is located has scores of people who can be termed as poor. These people stay in houses that are not well maintained and are crowded together. Most of them are tenants in low quality houses. But it should be noted that these instances of poverty are very few in the community under study

Services: Describe the following services that you see in the community

1. Describe Health, Mental and Social services available (i.e. types of health, mental and social services). If none in are the area, how far must individuals travel to access these services? Do you see alternative services including: Curanderos Herbalists, Palm readers, Acupunctures, Chiropractors?

The area has several hospitals and health care centers scattered uniformly in the region. These amenities have improved the health standards for the residents in the community. Driving along the Jack Nicholas for example, gives one a chance to see the many healthcare centers such as Oxygen Health and Wellness Centre.

2. Describe Fire and Police services (i.e. Do you see any fire and police services/equipment/officers?). Where is the closest fire and/or police stations? Talk with a fireman or police officer. Ask their perceptions of community’s health and safety issues, as well as strengths of the community.

The region has several firefighting stations situated at strategic locations for emergency purposes. Police stations are however not uniformly distributed in the region. They are scattered towards the south and residents to the north say that it is sometimes difficult to access the police stations in case of non-emergency situations.

3. Describe Educational Resources in the community (i.e. Where is the nearest public library? What about Schools, Universities, and Community Colleges, etc). Talk with the public librarian, school teacher, instructor, or administrator. Ask their perceptions of community health and safety issues as well as strengths of the community.

Schools are scattered in the community’s residential areas. Parent X confirmed that the schools are located at a favorable distance from the pupils’ or students’ homes. This, the say, has made it comfortable fro some students to walk to schools.

4. Describe Public Transportation services and Private Transportation Modes (i.e. How do people travel: on foot, bicycle, car, bus, taxi, other? estimate %). What access is available to disabled persons? What is the condition of streets and side walks? How does transportation status in this community help/hinder access to employment/healthcare education services?

Most people in the community travel by use of their private cars. The public service vehicles are mostly used in the southern part of the community in which low income earners reside.

5. Describe Park and Recreational Facilities and services. What parks, sports centers, green areas do you see in this community? Who is using these facilities and services? What are they doing? Note the age, ethnicity, race of persons observed (estimate %).

There are several parks and golf clubs in the area which are used by most of the inhabitants in the community for recreational activities. The youth are the ones who visit the parks in large numbers as compare to those in the age bracket of 35 and above.

6. Describe Religious services offered (i.e. what signs of religions do you see including churches, mosques, temples?). Are there services offered by these churches (i.e., mother’s time out, etc.).

Prevalence of churches in the area true indicator of Christianity as the main religion professed in the community. There are a varied number of religious views taking into consideration the many different churches in the region.

7. Describe stores and shops available in the community (i.e. what grocery, gas, department stores, etc are nearby?). Talk with a store clerk, etc. Ask their perceptions of the community’s health and safety issues as well as strengths of the community.

There are shopping malls at the shopping centre on Ellison Wilson road that serve people in this area. The attendant at one of the shopping malls said that the community members are a good market for their products and have respect for the various safety measures put in place around the malls.

A petroleum station attendant confirmed that most of the inhabitants in the community are friendly and considerate whenever carrying out a business transaction. In many instances, the community inhabitants have been described as cooperative.

Analysis and summary: Analyze and summarize the information you observed during this assignment, write a summary of the key community issues focusing on health and safety issues for this community.

The community has endeavored in many aspects to secure their health and safety matters by living according to the expected standards. There is organized collection of garbage in the larger part of the community. The southern side of the region however faces a slight challenge in form of disorganized garbage collection due to lack of responsibility from the few residents (Kadis, 2009).

Community Health Nursing Diagnoses: Write two priority community health nursing diagnoses. Use the correct format: Health Risk/problem of (specific injury, illness, or potential of, complications of, etc) among (specific population) related to (supporting evidence).

Community Health Nursing Diagnoses #1

The risk of heart diseases among the members of the community is related to the lifestyle they live which is accompanied with no exercise (Crawford, 2010).

Community Health Nursing Diagnoses #2

The risk of waterborne disease that may erupt in the southern part of the community is as a result of careless disposal of domestic wastes that may result into breeding sites for flies that may contamination of both water and food (Gill, 1997).

References

Crawford, M. (2010). Empowerment in Health Care. NY: Premier Publishers.

Gill, K. (1997). “Aspects of urban health.” Community Health Journal, 31(5), 215-330.

Kadis, J. (2009).“Work Force Planning: Roles of Health Workers.” Community Living Briefs.

ILRU: Community Living Exchange Collaborative, 2(6), 3-9.