Introduction
*Keep all the headings and tables but remove the colored notes/tips/links under each heading.
Introduce the reader to what this paper will cover: a community assessment of your city or county.
Discuss the public health nurse roles and responsibilities working with community partners toward
addressing a need in the community.
Examples of Community Health Assessments:
• Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plans
• Sample Community-Oriented Care Plan
• Community Health Assessment Toolkit
• Community Tool Box
Assess
Utilize local and county public health data, including Policy Map
• Policy Map Insights for Public Health
Helpful websites to locate relevant data:
• http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/
• http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/00
• http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
• http://www.census.gov
• http://cdc.gov/nchs
• http://seer.cancer.gov/
• http://health.gov/nhic
• http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanges.htm
• http://www.cdc.gov/aging/agingdata/index.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/results.htm
• https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/trends/2015_us_tobacco_trend_yrbs.pdf
Check city, county, and state websites for information. State Health Departments, school district websites, Chamber of commerce and our Community Health Nursing textbook (Neis, 2019) chapter 6 on Community Assessment. Include references and in-text citations for all sections below.
Population
Age, Gender and Race Distribution
Include a short paragraph for each, followed by visual data representations, such as charts and tables.
Examples:
Biology and Genetics
Critical thinking: Include scholarly sources: What does literature/research indicate as disease risk factors per ethnic group? Discuss the importance of knowing this data as a PHN. How does this relate to the population of your community?
Mortality and Morbidity Rates
The city/county’s mortality and morbidity rates of the city/county compared to county, state statistics, compare current data to past years. Check city data or county health rankings, or department of health sites. Include a short paragraph for each, followed by visual data representations, such as charts and tables. Must address the incidence of pandemics in your area.
Social Factors
Health Services
Type of health care services available for broader population: primary care, rehab, LTC, assisted living, hospice, mental health, home care, dental, vision, chiropractor, alternative, low cost/free health care, patient to provider ratio) Discuss specific to the community of interest group also. Access to Health Care
Social Services
Discuss community resources (WIC, SNAP, food stamps, Homeless services, Head Start, Foster Care, Home visiting, PHN free services, programs for seniors, military family services, programs for persons with disabilities, location, accessibility, etc.) How do they help the community?
Safety and Transportation
What types of transportation are available? Is it accessible, affordable, taxi, bus, rideshare? Law enforcement, fire, EMS, etc.
Economics and Housing:
Workplace/Employment/Income, Leading industries in the broader community. Percent of employed/unemployed, compare the city to county to state and over time. What is the poverty level, homeless statistics, children in poverty vs. adults, etc.? Housing: Types, conditions, low-income section 8, disability-ready, homeless.
Environment:
What is the air quality like in your zip code? Water quality? What are the top toxins
found in your zip code? Chemicals and pesticides? How does the environment impact health? Risks of floods, extreme weather, etc.
Environmental Protection Agency
http://www3.epa.gov/
https://www3.epa.gov/enviro/myenviro/
https://www.airnow.gov/
State pollution control agency (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) https://www.pca.state.mn.us/
Is your workplace safe? Check out: Health Care Without Harm video and explore their high integrity website https://noharm.org/. Are you exposed to toxic chemicals in your hospital, other industry workplaces?
Recreation
What are the recreation options, fees or free, accessible to all? Check city and chamber of commerce sites.
Education
Services provided, graduation/dropout rates (how does recent rate compare to past rates), special education (what is provided, are rates increasing or decreasing?), wellness/health education, physical education for which age groups, school nurse/ programs for at-risk youth, before/after school support, free/reduced meal plans, College accessibility, etc.
Policies and Government
Health Policies, disability laws, seatbelts, car seats, public smoking, helmet use, immunization laws or other local specific policy impacts?
Behavior
Include high-risk behaviors or risk factors for the community (smoking, inactivity, obesity, increased STIs, increased DUIs). Include tables showing statistics over time or compared to the state or national rates if indicated. Include positive behaviors (choices for healthy living: exercise, stress reduction activities, sleep and rest, healthy diet, weight loss support groups, etc.)
Access youth risk behavior survey data for the school district, county, or state for youth risk factors (obesity, teen pregnancy, unprotected sex, STIs, tobacco use, drug/alcohol use, bullying, etc.) Include tables showing statistics over time or compared to the state or national rates if indicated. Use national data trends tables if unable to find local district data. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/results.htm
Vulnerable Populations:
Discuss who is at risk and vulnerable in the community population, including the determinants of health, gaps in care, service, etc. Textbook unit 5 for several examples and discussion of vulnerable populations: people with disabilities, veterans, homeless, rural/migrants, people with mental illness, etc.
Analysis of Community Assessment
Analysis of data includes a summary of the assessment data, a description of trends and patterns that surfaced within the community assessment, and a comparison to Healthy People 2030 data and health indicators.
Priority community health issue
One paragraph to discuss the rationale for the priority community health issue. Support with a credible resource.
Plan
Introduction paragraph to this section. Identify and robustly discuss three priority PHN interventions from the PHN Intervention Wheel for the community health issue above.
Community Resources and Referrals
Discuss the rationales for several appropriate community resources and referrals the public health nurse would provide to support at-risk or vulnerable populations identified in the community assessment.
Mobilize
Which community partners should will the public health nurse choose for collaboration? Use the textbook and Healthy People 2030 to help identify key partners to address potential needs in the community. Write a paragraph to introduce this section. Complete the table below with at least three contacts.
Organization Description of potential role on the team Rationale for selection