Community Needs Assessment: Prince George’s County
Order Instructions:
W2 Clinical Assignment: Assess the Needs of the Community
Community & Public Health Nursing
Assess the Needs of the Community
Data Gathering: Data can come from a variety of sources and can include the following:
• Demographics of the community
• Vital statistics
• Previously conducted surveys
• Information from state and local health departments
The paper will use prince Georges County in Maryland as its community in question.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Community Needs Assessment: Prince George’s County
Needs assessment is a vital practice in communities as it allows stakeholders to identify gaps and work toward their closure. It is through needs assessment that parties identify problems and seek measures of addressing them. The utilization of the results that need assessment studies reveal could facilitate developments in communities. The process is usually systematic, and it is the desire to improve living conditions and other aspects of life that motivates the personnel that conducts the assessments. In most communities, needs could be relative, perceived, or expressed.
Prince George’s County has people of varied origin, and Hispanics and African-Americans constitute the majority. 98% of the county’s population was residing in the urban in the year 2012, and only 2% of the total population dwelled in rural areas (Onboard Informatics, 2015). Males constitute 44% of the population while females make up the remaining 56%. According to studies, the mean weight of men in the county is 198 pounds while that of females is 172 pounds (Onboard Informatics, 2015). The population recorded a score of 3.6 on general health, and, therefore, the county hits the average mark. The studies indicated that more than 70% of the residents engage in frequent physical activities (Onboard Informatics, 2015). The studies also showed that less than half of the population smoked cigarettes, and almost a three-quarter of the adults took alcohol (Onboard Informatics, 2015).
There are varied forms of needs in Prince Georges. Public health is among the areas where the residents of Prince George’s express needs. For instance, the community requires an enhancement of health care accessibility. Raised cost of services hinders a significant population from accessing medical care. Measures such as making prescription medications cheaper could promote the accessibility of health care. There is also a considerably uninsured population in the county, and extending cover to such persons could promote care accessibility. Focusing on the needs of the elderly could also offer an efficient measure toward the enhancement of care accessibility. The county has a considerably large population that is beyond sixty-five years, and supporting them could have a substantial impact on the community’s public health sector.
There is also a need for stakeholders to offer intensive education to the residents of the region. For instance, stakeholders could make the population aware of health hazards that could present in their area. There is a need to inform the residents of the appropriate livelihood to adopt so as to avoid diseases. From the demographics, an appreciable percentage undertakes physical activities, and educators could encourage more residents to pursue the approach (Onboard Informatics, 2015). The population also needs education on chronic ailments. It could be necessary to warn the residents of Prince Georges against practices that could predispose them to terminal illnesses.
There is a need to reduce alcohol consumption among residents of Prince Georges. About 80% of the adult population is alcoholic, yet the practice comes with adverse effects on the health of the alcohol users (Onboard Informatics, 2015). The community should understand the conditions associated with alcohol use.
The community also constitutes of people of varied origins, and there could be a possibility of discrimination in care access on the basis of people’s origin. Therefore, there is a need for leaders and health care practitioners to ensure that they offer services beyond racial considerations. Stakeholders should ensure that community members access standard care without racial barriers.
Reference
Onboard Informatics. (2015). Prince George’s County, MD. City-data.com. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/county/Prince_George-s_County-MD.html
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