The intent of this paper is to use community assessment tactics to identify community health matters and to associate these matters with community health nursing problems as well as attempt to provide ways that these problems can be dealt with and eventually eliminated or reduced significantly. In particular, it will address the prevalence obesity among Hispanics in the Bronx compared to the other states in New York and nationwide (Nelson & Doyle, 2013). It will also evaluate the preventive measures that can be taken to address this problem from a community health nursing perspective.
The Norwood is a community that lives in the Bronx, which is a town located in the state of New York. A Norwood section of the Bronx is made up of predominantly black and Hispanics. The Bronx is the third most densely inhabited county in the United States. Roughly half of the population found in Norwood is Hispanic. People in this area are friendly it is a close knit community. People in this community, mostly hold blue collar jobs and casual jobs without any permanence. They are mostly casual laborers working in manual jobs such as farm workers, janitors, nannies, among others (New, Xiao & Ma, 2013). In other segments of town, the historic homes are very fine kept, and health hazards are less frequent problems. There are common traffic signs, lights, and handicapped accessible sidewalks all over the town (Nelson & Doyle, 2013).
An indication of community togetherness can be observed at high worship and religious societies. Many of the households in the commonwealth are comprised of more than one being. The families in this community continuously seem to have a real association. There is some anxiety that distinct parts of the town are where the drug use and juvenile alcohol consumption is alleged (Nelson & Doyle, 2013). There is numerous small place of worship in the area and only some combine larger, newer cathedrals. Most folks are active ecclesiastical members and are apostolic on every Monday, Thursday, and usually Sunday. The community has one rustic community sanatorium, bounded my numerous surgeon offices that are situated in the interior of the urban. Other amenities are Pharmacies, Adult Daycare, Dialysis Centers, Planned Parenthood, and medical supply stores. There is a home for mentally ill residents, Urgent Care, several dental, medical, and chiropractic offices. Nursing homes are extensively out amid the town. There a public health subdivision and many programs are accessible for those looking for treatment (Nelson & Doyle, 2013).
The county of Bronx has a population of 143819 and is the fifth most populated county in New York out of its sixty-two counties. The median household income of its residents was $34284 as of 2014 however, about 30.4 % of the people still live in poverty. The central age of the residents is about thirty-three years (New, Xiao & Ma, 2013). The largest ethnic group in the Bronx is the Hispanic which is 54.3%, African-Americans at 29.8% and white people at 10.5% consecutively. Children under the age of five years make up 7.6% of the population; those under eighteen years are about 25.5% those 65 years and over, make up to 11.2 percent and 52.8% percent are female of the Bronx (New, Xiao & Ma, 2013).
The Bronx population is plagued by multiple health issues and socioeconomic situations that lead to poor health outcomes. It is rated as the district with the lowest healthy count in New York State. It has shown a high increase in the number of people with chronic disease; respiratory and circulatory illness, cancer as well as obesity. In the population who receive Medicaid the Bronx shows the highest rate of possibly preventable inpatient admissions for these chronic illnesses compared to other boroughs in New York City. Hen looking at the number of preventable emergency room visits it ranks second among New York City’s districts (Isasi et al., 2015). People from this community often associated illnesses such as depression with poverty, concerns about their employment status, access to secure housing and safe streets where they reside. Depression has been known to lead to obesity depending on how the individual deals with it or depending on how this depression manifests. Given the economic situation of this area there is a high likelihood of people being depressed as well as experiencing other mental health problems associated with poor socioeconomic conditions.
Obesity is the main contributor to many lifestyle diseases among people in the country. It is mostly caused people’s dietary choices as well as cultural practices and beliefs (Nelson & Doyle, 2013). Many Hispanics in the Bronx do not embrace the idea of exercise; they find it a waste of their time. They prefer sitting at home and enjoying their leisure time with their family. Obesity is a precursor for diseases such as cardiovascular illness, hypertension, and diabetes, which are the leading causes of deaths among Hispanics (New, Xiao & Ma, 2013). Addressing obesity means that there is the chance of lowering the rate of spread of these diseases.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Hispanics have 21% percent higher obesity rates compared with Caucasians in the United States (Isasi et al., 2015). According to research carried out in The Journal Of The American Heart Association, Obesity is prevalent among Hispanics and is especially severe in young adults this is because they are likely to get sicker as they age (Mier et al., 2013). As a result, they are unable to grow and develop as they should. It is also as an issue because most of them cannot afford medical insurance or medical fees.
Obesity is more predominant in the Bronx than any other city boroughs it has 32% of the adults compare to 24.2% of adults in New York City and 23.6% in the New York state (Isasi et al., 2015. The United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service Women Infant and Children (WIC) schedule shows about twenty nine percent of expectant females are usually overweight, while 27 percent of those in the Bronx were obese between 2010-2012 (Mier et al., 2013). Rates also showed that people in the Bronx were 27% overweight, and 24% were obese, which is higher than the rates in the New York City which is about 27% overweight and 22% obsessed.
Obesity in the Bronx is as a result of unhealthy dietary choices. The members of the community do not eat fruits or vegetables they prefer fried foods (Nelson & Doyle, 2013). Their cultural preferences also contribute heavily to their unhealthy lifestyle. It is important to incorporate life changes into the education system to curb this problem. By teaching children in schools they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle, there is a likelihood that it will prevent them from acquiring lifestyle diseases. It will also increase the awareness in their community, especially in the families where they come from after all, change works best when it is implemented at a family level.
Community outreach programs that in the area should be enhanced to include healthy living choices in their programs. By enhancing these programs is a chance of helping people change their lifestyle and embrace best dietary practices (Nelson & Doyle, 2013). Consulting with members of the community on how to make the dishes they consume less fatty without changing the cultural essence of the dish is another measure that can be useful in changing the prevalence obesity and by extension lifestyle disease affecting Hispanics in the Bronx and the country at large.
References
Hannah Nelson, John Doyle. (2013) Community Health Needs Assessment and Implementation Strategy: Jacobi Medical Center. NY: Jacobi Medical Center retrieved from, http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/downloads/pdf/community-assessment/hhc-chna-jacobi.pdf.
Isasi, C., Ayala, G., Sotres-Alvarez, D., Madanat, H., Penedo, F., & Loria, C. et al. (2015). Is Acculturation Related to Obesity in Hispanic/Latino Adults? Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Journal Of Obesity, 2015, 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/186276
Mier, N., Smith, M., Irizarry, D., Carrillo-Zuniga, G., Lee, C., Trevino, L., & Ory, M. (2013). Bridging Research and Policy to Address Childhood Obesity Among Border Hispanics. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 44(3), S208-S214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.11.013
New, C., Xiao, L., & Ma, J. (2013). Acculturation and overweight-related attitudes and behavior among obese Hispanic adults in the United States. Obesity, 21(11), 2396-2404. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oby.20146
