Community Needs Assessment in Public Health - Research Paper Example

 Community Needs Assessment Introduction Jacksonville is the largest city in the state of Florida with an estimated population of about 836, 507 in 2012. According to 2010 census, 26.7 per cent of those living I the area were under the 18 years of age, 9.7 per cent were between 18 and 24 years, 32.3 per cent were between 25 and 44 years, 21.0 per cent were between 45 and 64 years while 10.3 per cent were 65 years or more. The purpose of this paper is to carry out a community health needs assessment for residents of Jacksonville, the paper will further provide suggestions on each of the health need can be addressed with reference to real issues in the city. The health needs assessment will be conducted through review of relevant literature that covers the Jacksonville city, however, relevant literature from within Florida State will also be used for comparison and to add weight to the study. Since some information will be difficult to find online and in written journals, interview with the relevant health official will be used to supplement information gotten from written sources. This paper will detail information regarding behavioural health among the population, drug and substance abuse among the residents of Jacksonville, their consumption and food preferences and related ailments such as obesity. In addition, the paper will also discuss matter on the attitudes people have about sexual activity, the related sexually transmitted diseases, homosexuality and reproductive health including the use of contraceptives in the area. Behavioural health considerations For a long time behavioural health has been studied as part of basic health care to individuals, however in the recent past, the interest of behavioural health as contributing to overall good health has been increasing (Eddens, Kreuter & Archer, 2011). The link between behavioural health, which emanates from mental health and other forms of health, is two-sided meaning that it can move in any direction; deterioration in mental health can cause the overall physical health to deteriorate and at the same time, deterioration in physical health can have a negative effect on mental health. Behavioural health in the city was measured by asking people whether they were satisfied with their health or not, 89.7 per cent of the people living in the city were found to have goo behavioural health with almost 94 per cent saying they were either satisfied or very satisfied with life. An issue to note in this region is that suicide rates have increased with the period between 2008 and 2010 showing suicide rates were at 14.4 per cent. Drug and substance abuse Smoking Jacksonville is reported to have the largest number of smokers in Duval county and in essence the whole of Florida state, the overall smoking rates stood at slightly above 19 per cent with males smokers being more than female although with a small margin. Studies conducted in the region found out that the residents are not much concerned with tobacco use with only 38 per cent claiming that they are very concerned with tobacco use. Tobacco smoking in the city is higher especially among students of different levels of learning; however, it is reported to be very high among high school students. These high school students prefer smokeless tobacco to the conventional cigarettes. Alcohol Drinking for fun among adults has been on the decline in Jacksonville city, however, the rate remains higher than the federal average of 15 per cent. Individuals who engage in binge drinking were found to engage so only once or twice in a month. Substance abuse that includes cocaine and marijuana in the region has been increasing among the teens. This is with the revelation that approximately 8.5 per cent of all senior high school student admitted to have used cocaine at one point in their lifetime. In addition, students 12 years or older reported that it was easy for them to obtain substances such as marijuana, cocaine or heroin. Food consumption patterns, obesity and overweight issues For the past three decades, the obesity levels, especially among children and teenagers has been on the rise in the entire United States of America. According to the 2005 – 2006 national health and nutrition examination survey 30.1 per cent of all American children aged between 2 and 19 years were considered as overweight and 15.5v per cent were categorised as obese. In Jacksonville, Florida state, the trend has not been diff3erent with the 2006 Florida youth survey finding out that 27.9 per cent of all Jacksonville middle school students and 28.4 Jacksonville high school students were considered obese (Ray & University of North Florida 2011).. This trend, coupled with the dismal physical fitness levels of children and teenagers in the city, have worsened the overweight situation (Shils & Shike, 2006). The overweight and obesity issue has been aggravated by the choice lifestyle and diet that most of the people in Jacksonville have adopted. Most of the residents of the city prefer to eat junk food that contains a lot of fat, in addition, foods with refined sugar, which is a major cause of the weight problems have found their way in to the diets every day. Lack of any meaningful physical activity and exercise has made the problem worse since physical activities burn the extra fat from the fatty foods. Sexual activity, homosexuality and contraceptives In Jacksonville, just is like the case in many other parts of United States, individuals are allowed by law to engage in consensual activity when they reach the age of 16 years, therefore any sexual activity with a child below that age limit is considered a crime that is punishable by law. A recent popular case involving a minor is that of Darrell Gilyard a preacher at Jacksonville worship centre who was given a three-year probation sentence for committing sexual offence against minors. Rape cases especially where women are the victims have been prevalent in the city; this is attributable to the levels of drug and substance abuse. Homosexuality in Jacksonville and in Florida as a general has been a controversial topic with right wing activists, family groups and religious groups fighting against any special treatment of gays by the law. Contraception and use of birth control methods in Jacksonville can be termed as modest since the average family consists of about 3.07 members. Some of the birth control methods that are available in the city include birth control patch (Ortho Evra), birth control pill, birth control shot, birth control vaginal ring (Nuvaring), diaphragm, emergency pills, vasectomy for men, condom, female condom and spermicide. In addition, abortion services are available in selected clinics such as the Planned Parenthood Jacksonville health center. Analysis of how the needs in Jacksonville region can be addressed Smoking Smoking among residents of Jacksonville city may have been caused by several factors, this is especially so among the adult population, therefore in reducing the smoking levels in the region the authorities need to find the root cause of the levels of smoking and therefore address the problem accordingly. In addition, smokers should be encouraged to attend rehabilitation therapy that will help them quit smoking. On the other hand, smoking among high school students is mainly driven by their curiosity and desire to experiment, therefore with proper counselling session in schools, the smoking levels are likely to reduce. Alcohol The main problem with alcohol in the city has been binge drinking, therefore encouraging responsible drinking and tightening the law on excessive alcohol will help solve the problem. The problem on other drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin among teens can be attributed to ease of access to them. Therefore, to solve this problem, the authorities need to tighten the law on drug peddlers and increase surveillance where high schools students are likely to frequent (Hodgkins, 2004) Obesity and overweight problems Most of obesity and overweight problems have been brought by the lifestyles that the people have adopted, this include the diet and lack of physical activity. To solve this problem, the residents need to be sensitized on the importance of eating balanced diets that contains less of refined sugar and fatty contents and more of mineral and vitamin rich foods (Sturm, 2007). In addition, encouraging the overweight and obese to engage in regular physical activity will help them in reducing the weight manageable levels. In addition, the authorities should put in place measures ensuring that foods sold in the stores contain less of refines sugar and fortified with minerals and vitamins. Sexual activity, homosexuality and contraceptives Punishment of sexual offenders with minors should attract more strict punishments apart from being in probation, this will deter would be sexual offenders from sexually molesting minors or raping them. Rape cases among older women can be solved in a similar way by finding new ways of collecting evidence that will ensure the perpetrators are caught; this will act to deter potential rapists when they are certain they will be caught. In addition, dealing with the drug abuse menace is also likely to reduce the number of cases in the city (Smith et al, 2005). Homophobia in the Jacksonville city is also rife with family activists and religious groups being against recognition of their rights, this has made it difficult to address the health problems that they face including sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. Encouraging tolerance among the groups in the two sides of the divide will help in reducing the levels of homophobia in the area. In addition, encouraging homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals to open up about themselves and seek professional help where necessary will help in addressing the problems that they face. Contraceptive use in Florida has been on the rise with individuals showing preference to some methods than others, this is trend is likely to be maintained with the fertility levels expected to reduce in the coming years. Conclusion In Jacksonville city, Florida, various health needs face the population, these range from behavioural health issues, which involve mental health to issues affecting physical health. Drug and substance abuse is one of the issues affecting people in this city, under drugs the most used are alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, heroin and cocaine. Overweight and obesity problems have also faced the residents of Jacksonville mainly due to their lifestyles, use of contraceptives and homosexuality are other health issues that face the city. Solutions to these problems range from counselling and putting in place strict laws to reduce drug abuse, eating proper diet, engaging in regular physical activity to reduce overweight problems, and encouraging Jacksonville community to avoid discrimination of homosexuals. References Eddens, K. S., Kreuter, M. W., & Archer, K. (2011). Proactive screening for health needs in United Way's 2-1-1 information and referral service. Journal of social service research, 37(2), 113-123. Hodgkins, C. C., Cahill, K. S., Seraphine, A. E., Frostpineda, K., & Gold, M. S. (2004). Adolescent drug addiction treatment and weight gain. Journal of addictive diseases, 23(3), 55-65. Ray, E. M., & University of North Florida. (2011). Fruit in the bowl, health is the goal: Changing attitudes and behaviors on healthy eating at the University of North Florida in Spring 2011. Shils, M. E., & Shike, M. (Eds.). (2006). Modern nutrition in health and diseases. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Smith, D. K., Grohskopf, L. A., Black, R. J., Auerbach, J. D., Veronese, F., Struble, K. A., ... & Greenberg, A. E. (2005). Antiretroviral postexposure prophylaxis after sexual, injection-drug use, or other nonoccupational exposure to HIV in the United States: recommendations from the US Department of Health and Human Services. MMWR Recomm Rep, 54(RR-2), 1-20. Sturm, R. (2007). Increases in morbid obesity in the USA: 2000–2005. Public health, 121(7), 492. Read More