NEIGHBORHOOD/COMMUNITY
Physical environmental safety within the St Albans Queens community lies in the infrastructure. There are well constructed streets with lights in close proximity to each other for vehicles and pedestrians to move along roadways and pavements safely. Also they have been constructed wide enough allowing space for two way vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The building code enforcement department through frequent inspections ensures that buildings are safe for residents to live in. Water and sewage standards are maintained, license for eating houses and business are issued prior to operations, landlords affect repairs to apartment complexes; garbage disposal services are efficient and environmental parks maintenance is current.
This is a predominantly African America/ West Indian populated community. Significant differences in physical/ physiological features can be detected in hair texture, skin color sexual characteristics. There are no evidence based studies to determine whether these physical/physiological differences influence the health of these specific groups.
Even though St Albans is such an affluent, predominantly, African American Community, the need for disaster assessment and planning is inevitable as in any other community internationally. St Albans community is over 300 years old emerging from a plantation biophysical infrastructural development. Environmentalists have declared the community to be overdeveloped. With this issue comes the need to assess how over development has affected infrastructure such as sewage, accommodation and garbage encumbrances along pavements.
A disaster planning guide for safety within homes for families and tenants in St Albans is an basements can be most affected and children contract diseases. Also the department of Health could institute an education program alerting residents how to anticipate these emergencies and avoid them. This is a mixed community of African Americans and Caribbean people. The only disaster assessment, here regards cultural interpretation of messages during an emergency. In this case educating the community within their cultural orientation and language function would be helpful.
Members of St. Albans community are active participants of their neighborhood. Socializing groups include churches, mosques, temples, parks, family life centers and liquor stores. There seems to be no imminent disaster from the behavioral assessment criterion.
Health system factors influencing disasters. Ambulance services are available upon request and there is easy access to buses twenty four hours a day if medical transportation is needed for medical attention in an emergency. Jamaica hospital is in close proximity to St Albans community offering immediate emergency. As such, there are no health system factors influencing disaster in this community.
Data
St Albans, Queens, New York is situated within the boundaries of Linden and Farmers Boulevard, just approximately two miles south of JFK. It is southeast of Jamaica, West of Cambria Heights and North of Spring filed Gardens and Lauderlton. This neighborhood forms a part of the Queens Community Board being serviced by St Albans Post Office within the zip code 11412 (Roleke,2012)
Age composition of the Community
Age Group 0-100 Population Size – 37, 452
0–1 year ----11%
1 –5 years-----12%
6–1 2 years- 12%
1 3–1 9 years—10%
20–29 years---16%
30–49 years----10 %
50–64 years---8 %
65–74 years--- 8%
75–84 years----7%
Over 85 years----6%
(U S Census Bureau, 2012)
Children are raised by parents at primary residences, foster homes or by relatives. Attitudes towards age are specifically related to the American culture. In some cases the younger age group, such as teenagers are disrespectful to the older people in the community who could be in parents or grandparents category. Churches and community interest groups try to instill these values among children within that social setting.
Interpretation
There are no rituals associated with coming of age within this community culture. However, the African Americans in this community celebrate a 16th birthday, especially for girls. Usually, it is a birthday bash. Also, individual families celebrate birthdays at different times within the life span. There are no effects of rituals on anyone’s health. There is a 62% to 58% female/ male distribution, respectively (US Census, 2012).
Gender does not plan a significant role in acceptability of healthcare providers, the type of insurance policy does. The only time it can be said that gender biases are evident is when the patient is pregnant where preference is then given to the woman and unborn child. Differences displayed by these groups regarding their normal physiologic values relate to how they interact with each other daily based on peculiar cultural orientation such as language accents and cultural meaning of words.
African American children tend to be obese, but cannot be fully accounted for genetically. Also, Diabetes, hypertension, sickle cell anemia are all illness associated with African Americans. The genitals are considered sacred parts of the body across cultural groups found within the community. African American girls tend to expose legs, arms and waist line liberally to the public. Other ethnic groups seem to be covering up. Men also, do not expose their body parts as women do.
Community Diagnosis
Physical safety seems to have a direct impact on psychological safety. This is evident in the way residents of St Albans interact as a community. Even though there are no significant increases in crime rates over the past decade residents enjoy psychological safety if when in danger they call on law enforcement the response is almost immediate. There are no real threats of drug trafficking within the community, neither any major burglary. Homes are secure with iron bars to promote a psychology of being alright. There are numerous churches scattered in the community for spiritual support.
When social dimensions of health are assessed based on the conceptual model relating health to five dimensions of being, St Albans community can be considered above average in this respect. Physically, from interviews, based on the African American health standards of a healthy community St Albans is above average in this regard. Age related conditions do affect the elderly and children, but from observation 75% of residents enjoy good physical health.
Likewise the emotional/ social health is great. St Albans has produced some of the best sportsmen and women of the century emerging from their exemplary educational culture within the society. Young people are encouraged to engage in healthy activities. The community has produced sportsmen in the caliber of Joe Louis and musicians such as Brook Benton and James Brown.
Intellectual and spiritual health is way above the average predominantly African American community. There are public as well as private schools. From a personal assessment churches are almost at every other space within the business community along Hollis, Jamaica and Hillside avenues.
References
Roleke, J. (2012). St. Albans - Queens Neighborhood Profile.About.com Guide
United States Census bureau (2012). St Albans Statistics. US Census.
