Community assessment and project planning - Essay Example

Community assessment and project planning al affiliation) Community assessment Community assessment entails collecting, analyzing and utilizing data to mobilize and educate communities, garner resources, develop priorities and plan actions aimed at improving the health of the public. Assessment the health status of the community is effective in generating a decision and coming up with strategies that can help the community deal with any health problems. A thorough and evidence based community health assessment is a core function and customary practice of public health. A community health assessment is important as it acts as a stepping stone towards promotion of community health. A community health assessment to identify and explain the factors that affect the health concerns of the community as well as the resources available in the community that can be utilized to solve the problem and the health concern identified. Through the assessment process, the public health experts are able to identify and describe the health concerns of the community, the factors that give rise to health challenges as well as the existing community resources and assets that can be mobilized to improve the health status of the community (Drezner, Newbern, Ossa & Johnson, 2014). Community assessment thereby ensures that local resources are often directed toward interventions and activities that are aimed at addressing timely and critical public health needs. The research paper is about a community assessment that was conducted in Chicago. The paper explains the health problems and issues that were identified in the community and how the problems can be solved by utilizing the resources available in the community. Community assessment in Philadelphia This community assessment is a review of population health in Philadelphia, highlighting key health concerns as well as resources that can be utilized to combat the health problems that are identified. Conducting a community health assessment is important activity associated with public health experts. Community health assessment enables both nongovernmental and governmental organization to identify community assets and needs, develop program and policies, allocate resources while at the same time monitor the public health changes in the community. The information was obtained from various health sources in Philadelphia such as the department of public and community health. Philadelphia is considered the fifth largest city in the United States of America. The 2010 population census revealed a population of around 1,536,006 people. The largest portion of the population is between 15-34 years old. Birth rates have also increased over the past decade. Philadelphia is both ethnically and racially diverse with at least a third of the population identified as non Hispanic whites (Dudley, 2010). Asians constitute six percent of the total population, non Hispanic blacks make up to forty two percent with Hispanic of all races constituting up to around twelve percent of the total population. Health concerns in the Philadelphia community The key public health concerns that are linked to the people in the city includes obesity, child health, reproductive health, cardiovascular diseases, tobacco and alcohol, mental health, violence, environmental health and cancer screening and prevention. Indicators that are recorded over time include reading ability, social capital, high school graduation, life expectancy and self reported health. In addition, other health concern in the city includes access to healthy foods and recreational facilities, firearm homicides, violent crimes, and suicidal youths, food safety, child uninsurance, preventable hospitalization and child dental care, child immunization, child pedestrian and bicycle crashes as well as elevated lead levels, breast feeding initiation, teen births and teen sexually transmitted infections, HIV testing , early case of heart disease related deaths, adult and child obesity and adult and youth smoking, second hand smoke exposure as well as smoking related deaths (Jocic, Krajnovic & Tadic, 2013). Moreover, some of the community indicators that are worsening over time include; unemployment, hypertension and diabetes, teen condom and birth control use, child asthma hospitalization, adult mental health, late or no prenatal care as well as adult uninsurance and access to care. The health problem tends to be different across ethics and racial disparities in various areas. For example, among the African American individuals, the health concerns that is associated with this race is adult smoking, premature death, unemployment, child obesity among girls and adults, smoking deaths, adult smoking and partial or second hand smoking. Some of the health concerns among the Hispanics includes self reported health, child obesity and teen births. In addition, teen and adult mental health is a concern (Johnson et al., 2009). Among the white population the health concerns that were recorded included excessive drinking and youth smoking, HPV vaccination and child immunization as well as suicide mortality. Even though the data on Asians were limited, the health concerns that were identified in this group included adult excessive drinking, HIV testing, breast and dental cancer screening as well as child dental care. Moreover, the health concerns seemed to have differed geographically, with some parts of the municipality experiencing more health concerns than others. The health concerns seem to differ geographically with some areas of the community experiencing more health concerns than others. West Philadelphia for example has the slightly poor health indicators such as adult smoking, sexual transmitted infections among the teens, food safety and preventable hospitalization. The health indicators identified in river wards are however different and are associated with adult uninsurance, smoking related deaths and access to health concerns. North Philadelphia health concerns entail child obesity, teen birth, breast feeding initiation and firearm homicides. The lower north Philadelphia region however, experiences poverty concerns, early heart diseases, child mortality as well as infant mortality. The lower and southern regions of the city experiences adult hypertension, adult obesity, child accidents and prenatal care (Jocic, Krajnovic & Tadic, 2013). Community health assessment development process The department of public health in the region developed and refined its community assessment over the course of twenty years. The department involved numerous external and internal stakeholders in the process. The department of public health was able to review community assessment strategies form other areas and set up plans to help the community solve the existing health concerns. Key federal national health plans including the national preventive strategy and the health people 2020 (Johnson et al., 2009). The health department generated numerous health plans that were aimed at identifying the health indicators and coming up with the means that will help deal with the situation. The health status of the community Over the last ten years, mortality cases arising from major health concerns in the regions have declined. Including 21% decline for cancer, 26% decline for heart diseases, 48% decline for pneumonia and 55% decline in death resulting from HIV. Additionally , the life expectancy in the areas has being shown to rise with major improvement in various health concern areas such as childhood immunization, breast feeding initiation, child obesity, HIV diagnosis case, adult smoking, homicides and with restaurants being more concerned with food safety inspection. Despite the community registering improvement in various areas, some health indicators have been found to be drifting in the wrong direction (Kinsey, 2010). For example the rate of hypertension, diabetes, adult uninsurance as well as childhood asthma has consistently increased since the year 2000. . The region has recorded a decline in the infant mortality rate with some regions such as the northern part of the city, experiencing poorest health outcomes which included educational attainment, teen birth, homicides, breast cancer screening, poverty and educational attainment. Community health is a function associated with the combination of numerous factors such as health care, environmental exposure, social circumstances, health care as well as genetic predisposition (Schwartz, 2010). The social determinant of health entails circumstances in which people live, grow, age and work. They include income, employment, education, community safety and social support. Social determinant indirectly or directly impact on health and often present far reaching effects. Nearly a third of the Philadelphia population live below the poverty line and this may predispose them to certain health concerns (Rothbard, Richman & Hadley, 2011). Behavioral health in the community is mostly influenced by the social circumstances of the people which are the most critical factors in premature death. A good example is that of children growing up in areas with high rate of tobacco business. Such children are more likely to become smokers themselves. Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the country and predisposes individuals to respiratory diseases, stroke, heart disease and cancer and poor birth outcomes. Similarly, physical inactivity and poor nutrition predisposes individuals to heart diseases, obesity and diabetes. Philadelphia has the highest number of people with obesity and smoking but broad based system changes and policy has led to decline in childhood obesity and adult smoking. Even though health care is important in management and prevention of illness, it can only prevent ten percent of premature deaths. Therefore, comprehensive community assessment and response should address the access to health care including underinsurance, uninsurance and the cost of care. Nearly twenty percent of people living in Philadelphia are not insured and this has made it a challenge for them to access health care services. Environmental exposure has also resulted to numerous health concerns in the area. Environmental concerns targets soil, water, air, homes, work places, communities and schools. Environmental exposures are most often influenced by social circumstances just as much like health behavior of the people in the community (Kinsey, 2010). Programs that can be put in place to help deal with the various health concerns identified in Philadelphia community Numerous health programs can be put in place to help deal with the various health concerns identified in the region. In order for the programs to be successful, community participation should be allowed. The community leaders should be empowered in order to mobilize other members of the community (Culhane, 2001). The built environment will be essential in ensuring the people are able to access recreational activities and healthy foods that are important to their health. Making it easier for people to access healthy food as well as recreational facility will help build a healthy population. Utilization of neighborhood recreational facilities such as schools, parks, swimming pools, recreational baths and bike bath will enable individuals to maintain their weights and thereby able to deal with health concerns that are related to obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Philadelphia has a lot of public health assets that can be utilized to improve the health of the people. The city has over twelve thousand acres of recreational space that can be utilized for recreational activities (Kuhr, 2009). The Fairmont parks in the west have unpaved and paved paths that are designed for walking, biking and hiking. There are over a hundred neighborhood parks as well as many recreational centers that can be offer ample opportunity for participation in healthy physical activities such as swimming, basket ball, baseball and running. There are many food outlets centers that have been opened up in the recent past, the food out outlet offer cheap access to healthy food. The region is also home to numerous hospitals. Over forty three hospitals are located in the city. The hospitals in addition to numerous community health centers provide the residents with access to preventive and curative health. Mental health as a healthy concern is Philadelphia can be dealt with in numerous ways. Teen suicidal ideation can be prevented by counseling services that can be offered in schools and health centers. Mental health concerns that are related to misuse of drugs such as marijuana can be prevented by health awareness on drug effects as well as the various mental health clinics and rehabilitation centers. Violence as a health concern can be dealt by the strengthening the health policies that are in place (Johnson et al., 2009). Violence should be prevented at all cost as it impacts negatively on the psychological well being, threaten reproductive and cardiovascular health as well as making it a challenge to access health care services. In order to deal with health related issues that is related to the environment, the department concerned with the promotion of health should ensure food establishments in the city are safe and in line with food safety regulations (B, 2007). Cancer screening services that are offered in many health facilities are important in earlier diagnosis of breast cancer, colon cancer as well as other forms that can be dangerous to people’s health (Kinsey, 2010). Access to care should be improved by ensuring the services are available and affordable to the people. Lack of insurance cover makes it a challenge for people to access health services. The health administration should be able to come with insurance cover that is affordable to all the people. Health counseling in schools and health clinics will help reduce teen death by creation of awareness on the effects of drugs and unprotected sex. Promotion of child health through immunization and prevention of child related accidents will help reduce child mortality in Philadelphia. In order for the approach to be successful, community involvement in the planning of the health initiatives should be implemented by the health team. Conclusion Community health assessment enables the health sector to come up with strategies that can help maintain a healthy population. A community health assessment makes is easier to describe and identify factors that affect people’s healthy in the community as well as identifying adequate resources that can be utilized to address the health concerns (Kinsey, 2010). Community health assessment can help to identify the local resources that can be directed towards interventions and activities aimed at addressing timely and critical public health needs. Identifying the health concerns and utilizing the available resources in Philadelphia will help maintain a health population in the city. References B., M. (2007). Home and Community Hygiene: A Text-Book of Personal and Public Health. By Jean Broadhurst, Ph.D. Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott Co. Pp. 428; illustrated. Nat Mun Rev, 8(2), 170-170. doi:10.1002/ncr.4110080222 Culhane, D. (2001). The co-occurrence of AIDS and homelessness: results from the integration of administrative databases for AIDS surveillance and public shelter utilisation in Philadelphia. Journal Of Epidemiology & Community Health, 55(7), 515-520. doi:10.1136/jech.55.7.515 Drezner, K., Newbern, E., Ossa, A., & Johnson, C. (2014). Evaluation of a Community Immunization Outreach Program—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Journal Of Public Health Management And Practice, 1. doi:10.1097/phh.0000000000000197 Dudley, J. (2010). Citizens boards for philadelphia community mental health centers. Community Ment Health J, 11(4), 410-417. doi:10.1007/bf01419664 Jocic, D., Krajnovic, D., & Tadic, I. (2013). Self- Assesment of Health Professionals’ Communication Skills with Patients. Value In Health, 16(7), A478. doi:10.1016/j.jval.2013.08.899 Johnson, J., Hayden, U., Thomas, N., Groce-Martin, J., Henry, T., & Guerra, T. et al. (2009). Building Community Participatory Research Coalitions from the Ground Up: The Philadelphia Area Research Community Coalition. Progress In Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, And Action, 3(1), 61-72. doi:10.1353/cpr.0.0052 Kinsey, K. (2010). Models That Work: An Interview with Dorothy Harrell, Philadelphia Community Activist. Family & Community Health, 21(4), 74-79. doi:10.1097/00003727-199901000-00009 Kuhr, B. (2009). COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH: MYTH AND REALITY—by Anthony F. Panzetta, M.D.; Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1971, 197 pages, $6.75. PS, 23(4), 130-a-131. doi:10.1176/ps.23.4.130-a Rothbard, A., Richman, E., & Hadley, T. (2011). “Unbundling” of State Hospital services in the community: The Philadelphia State Hospital story. Adm Policy Ment Health, 24(5), 391-398. doi:10.1007/bf02042721 Schwartz, J. (2010). Drinking water turbidity and gastrointestinal illness in the elderly of Philadelphia. Journal Of Epidemiology & Community Health, 54(1), 45-51. doi:10.1136/jech.54.1.45 Read More