Assignment #1 Guidelines: Assessment of Community

phenomenological community assessment Overview and Guidelines: You are to actually conduct a community assessment of your community and provide a discussion of your findings. This assignment is a geopolitical community assessment. This assignment is an assessment of the actual city, town, or county and the populations that live there. You will not receive credit for a phenomenological community assessment (i.e. an assessment of a particular patient population, such as people with heart disease, etc.). Both assessment types are discussed in your textbook on p. 395, but this assignment is an assessment of a geopolitical community. Data should come from a wide range of sources, including state/county/municipal websites, personal interviews, your own “windshield survey”, etc. There is a folder located under Units and Assignments, labeled Searching for EBP Resources.  (Community Assessment is discussed in Chapter 15) and lectures regarding the diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation of community as a client.

It is expected that you include a thorough, detailed, and specific discussion of each component of the assessment of community assignment. Try not to confuse community with target audience. Coworkers/staff may be your target audience (so you will develop your behavioral objectives for your PEEP Action Plan and Proposal with them in mind). Your community is the population of patients served by your clinical facility. This is the community you need to focus on when completing your community assessment. For example, the majority of patients served by a hospital in Birmingham, AL come from the Jefferson and Shelby County communities. Your community assessment would focus on one or both of these communities: Jefferson and/or Shelby County.

Assignment #1 must be a minimum of four pages in length not to exceed eight pages (not including title page or reference page). The quality of this assignment submission is very important. Below is examples on how paper should be written my topic is mental health and mental disorders objective is suicide in Mental Hospital in Tuscaloosa, AL serving surround counties for mental health services.

The following critical elements must be included in this assignment on phenomenological community assessment:

1) Discuss the general community characteristics, such as historical development and geographic boundaries. Remember boundaries include people, place, and social interaction.

Partial example:

Montgomery, Alabama sits on land that was the site of two Indian towns named Ikanatchi and Towasa. The Alibamu Creek Indians were the first settlers there. This is where the name

Alabama was adapted. In December of 1819, the town of Montgomery was incorporated. The

town was named after General Richard Montgomery, a soldier who died in the Revolutionary

War.

2) Describe physical and psychosocial characteristics of the community, such as demographic information (age, race, gender, ethnicity), socioeconomic characteristics of the community, and religion.

Partial example:

“Psychosocial characteristics that affect the emotional tones of the community include

religion, socioeconomic class, education, occupation, and marital status” (Maurer & Smith,

2013, p. 404). According to the United States Census Bureau (2015), Pewaw County

characteristics are as follows: high school graduate or higher, age 25 years+ (76.9%), bachelor’s

degree or higher, age 25 years+ (12.4%), civilian labor force, total, percent of population age 16

years+ (54.4%), persons per household (2.56), median household income in dollars (37,745) and

percent of persons in poverty (18.4%).

3) Distinguish key groups that exist within the community, make sure to include vulnerable groups.

Partial example:

Several vulnerable groups are in Morgan County. The Hispanic population is a group that is vulnerable due to healthcare needs and being able to have follow up care they need. This group does not always fully understand where to go for medical care and presents often when they are very sick or pregnant. Another group that is vulnerable is the mental health community. There are not enough mental health providers practicing in Morgan County.

4) Name specific health concerns for members of the community.

Partial example:

Some specific health concerns for members of the Calhoun County community include heart disease, diabetes and obesity. “Alabama has the 2nd highest death rate from cardiovascular disease in the country and heart disease is the No. 1 killer in Alabama” (American Heart Association, 2017). This statistics alone presents an opportunity and reiterates the need for physical activity education in the lives of children and adults in Calhoun County, Alabama.

5) Examine the existing resources within the community at the county, state, and national level.

Partial example:

The Crenshaw Department of Public Health (2017) has a Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch that partners with local, state, and national affiliates to execute and assess effective tobacco prevention and cessation activities that meet certain goals such as preventing teens from starting tobacco and the promotion of cessation in adults and teens. Maurer and Smith (2013) highlight that the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified smoking reduction as one of its primary objectives.

6) Classify strengths and weaknesses (economics, politics, communication, values, readiness to learn, barriers to learning) of the community that would be integral in the design of a community health strategy.

Partial example:

When preparing a community health strategy, there are many strengths and weaknesses within the Pefect County area which would be integral in the design. The Pefect County community has developed strong bonds through their local schools, colleges, churches, and community organizations. This provides them strength to overcome challenges they are faced with and continue moving forward. Northeast Jorga Medical Center is also a major strength and healthcare resource for this community. With over 5900 employees at the Goatsville location, it provides this community with tremendous employment opportunity, and therefore, income and health insurance. Perhaps a weakness is the division between the community and the Hispanic populations. There is a language barrier for most of these individuals which creates difficulties in communication among groups.

7) Review opportunities that exist for improving the health of the community.

Partial example:

Many opportunities exist for the community to improve overall health. Local hospitals can host free to low cost health fairs open to the community. Health professionals visit high schools and community colleges to educate young individuals about proper health practices. Educating the youth is important since young people, specifically women, account for a majority of the population in March County.

8) Identify barriers that may effect successful implementation of a community health strategy.

Partial example:

The barriers within Maine County include the rural geographical location of the county, as well as, the quarter of the population living either in poverty, with disability, or without medical insurance. In addition, education on available resources may seem overwhelming to individuals unknown to the medical field. Therefore, reaching out to target audiences directly affecting and altering the medical support of individuals in the community can help improve the community assessment and services overtime.

9) References: APA 6th edition. Use APA formatting for the reference page and all in-text citations. You should include a minimum of four references: one reference should be your course textbook, one reference should be from state/county/municipal websites, one reference should come from professional websites, and one reference should come from evidence-based articles from peer reviewed journals.

10) Articulation: Your submission should be appropriate for a professional audience (complete sentences and correct spelling, grammar, and syntax).

phenomenological community assessment rubric

Criteria	Exemplary	Proficient	Needs Improvement
General community characteristics: historical development and geographic boundaries	10 to 10 points Discussion demonstrates a thorough understanding of historical development and geographic boundaries	8 to 9.5 points Discussion demonstrates an adequate understanding of historical development and geographic boundaries	0 to 7 points Fails to discuss one or more historical development and geographic boundaries
Physical and Psychosocial Characteristics	10 to 10 points Thoroughly describes the community in terms of physical and psychosocial characteristics, including all criteria	8 to 9.5 points Adequately describes the community in terms of physical and psychosocial characteristics	0 to 7 points Does not clearly describe physical and psychosocial characteristics
Key groups that exist within the community	10 to 10 points Discussion meets criteria by thoroughly distinguishing key groups that exist within the community, including vulnerable groups	8 to 9.5 points Adequately distinguished key groups that exist within the community	0 to 7 points Does not clearly distinguish key groups that exist within the community
Specific health concerns	10 to 10 points Names specific health concerns for members of the community	8 to 9.5 points Names specific health concerns but health concerns are inconsistent with characteristics presented	0 to 7 points Does not name specific health concerns for key groups within the community
Existing resources within the community	10 to 10 points Thorough discussion that examines existing resources within the community detailing them at the county, state, and national level	8 to 9.5 points Adequate discussion that includes an examination of resources available within the community but lacks detail at either the county, state, and/or national level	0 to 7 points Omits or does not adequately examine resources at the county, state, and national level
Strengths and weaknesses	10 to 10 points Classifies strengths and weaknesses of the community that would be integral in the design of a community health strategy	8 to 9.5 points Classifies at least one strength and one weakness of the community that would be integral in the design of a community health strategy	0 to 7 points Does not successfully present a connection between strengths and weaknesses and/or community health strategy is not evident
Opportunities that exist for improving health	10 to 10 points Thoroughly reviews specific opportunities that exist for improving the health of the community	8 to 9.5 points Adequately reviews general opportunities that exist within the community but does not demonstrate clarity and accuracy	0 to 7 points Does not review areas of opportunity that exist within the community
Barriers that may impact successful implementation	10 to 10 points Identifies barriers that may effect successful implementation of a community health strategy	8 to 9.5 points Description is incomplete in Identifying barriers that may effect successful implementation of a community health strategy	0 to 7 points Does not identify barriers that may effect successful implementation of a community health strategy
References	10 to 10 points Meets exemplary criteria and supports the assessment of community with required references that are relevant and current to the topic; APA formatting is correct	8 to 9.5 points Meets proficient criteria and the required four references as outlined in assignment guidelines; APA formatting followed by 80%	0 to 7 points Omits one or more of the required references and/or the sources are not current or relevant to the topic; APA formatting followed by 70% or less
Articulation	10 to 10 points Assignment is free of errors related to grammar, spelling, syntax, and is presented in an easy to read format	8 to 9.5 points Assignment has no major errors related to grammar, spelling, or syntax	0 to 7 points Assignment has major errors related to grammar, spelling, syntax or organization that prevents understanding of ideas

 Title Page

(*The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation.)

Assessment of Community

(*Double-space; 1″ margins on all sides. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font;  Include a “running head” at the top of every page; insert page numbers flush right.)

• Discuss the general community characteristics, such as historical development and geographic boundaries. Remember boundaries include people, place, and social interaction.
• Describe physical and psychosocial characteristics of the community, such as demographic information (age, race, gender, ethnicity), socioeconomic characteristics of the community, and religion.
• Distinguish key groups that exist within the community, make sure to include vulnerable groups.
• Name specific health concerns for members of the community.
• Examine the existing resources within the community at the county, state, and national level.
• Classify strengths and weaknesses (economics, politics, communication, values, readiness to learn, barriers to learning) of the community that would be integral in the design of a community health strategy.
• Review opportunities that exist for improving the health of the community.
• Identify barriers that may effect successful implementation of a community health strategy.

phenomenological community assessment Reference Page

(*References listed in alphabetical order, one reference should be your course textbook, one reference should be from state/county/municipal website, one reference should come from professional website, and one reference should come from evidence based article from peer reviewed journals.)