Assessing Healthcare Needs of the Aging Baby Boomers in Duxbury - Essay Example

The group of people are said to be well educated and are used to be having privileges so, most likely, they are expected to demand high-quality nursing care or expect nurses to be prepared for their needs as they age (Roszak, 2001).

            In the case of Duxbury, 25% of community members are composed of 25% older than 65 years and this percentage is expected to increase by more than 50% in 25 years. Regarding health care, the country has five primary care providers.  Of these five primary care providers, only one specializes in geriatric care and there is one 54-bed long-term nursing care facility located in the northern region. There is no public transit system because of rural roads.  However, residents may call a hospital shuttle program if they need transportation to a physician's appointment.

            Mr. Thompson,  a nurse in community health, and his committee are aware that as the baby-boomer population ages, health care professionals need to prepare for a rapid increase in the number of people older than 65 years of age.  The committee's purpose is to make suggestions to the health department and county officials about how to prepare for the influx in health services that will be needed for these older adults.

            For Mr. Thompson to assess the community's knowledge and beliefs, values and sentiments, goals and perceived needs, norms, problem-solving processes, power, leadership, and influence structures, he should engage in personal interactions with the people in the community. He can do this while attending community events from which he knew interactions will happen.      Taking down notes while or after conversing with community members can also be a good method.  Aside from interactions or interviews, he could also acquire available written records which might be helpful or may serve as support in his data generation.