Central Technical School
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Introduction and Purpose
Central Technical School is comprised of high school students in grades 9 to 12. The school is located in ward 20, Trinity-Spadina, on north east corner of Bathurst Street and Harbour and is surrounded by UNIVERITY/SOUTH ANNEX neighborhood. This paper presents the community assessment of Central Technical School community members and its surrounding community. The purpose of the assessment was to investigate the community’s health equity issues which affect community members’ quality of life. This paper discusses the methods that are used to come up with necessary data, the key informants consulted, summary of findings of the target community, and recommendations that can be used to improve the issue of the health equity of the students at Central Technical School.
Data Collection Methods
Various methods of data collection procedures were used in order to come up with the necessary data. I used both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The quantitative data that I used during my assessment are Central Technical School students’ census information, additional paper documents within the school, and websites of Statistics Canada, Toronto Public Health, and Toronto District School Board. I used quantitative data in order to find facts and figures of the statistics and health status of the population in the community (Stamler & Yiu, 2012). I utilized windshield survey, which is one of the methods that can be used to collect qualitative data.
On the first day of my clinical community placement, I walked around the neighborhood and used my five sense organs in order to collect information about my target community and its neighborhood. For example, during my windshield survey, I was able to compare the
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information that I found on the website to what I could physically see, listen, touch and smell. I also used community surveys (i.e., face-to-face interviews) with two of the residences in order to find out their perceptions about their area and neighborhood. Questioners were also prepared to my aggregate groups in order to find out their cultural background and family socio-economic status. Information was also gathered from key informants. During a community assessment, it is vital for community nurses to uses different strategies to collect data which focus on the purpose of assessment and determinants of health (Stamler & Yiu, 2012).
Key Informants
The key informants that I involved during my community assessment were the school guidance, child and youth counselor, the school police, the public health nurse, the school settlement worker, teachers, and my preceptor. To each of the key informants, we did 10-20 minutes of face-to-face interview in order to find out the issues that students at Central Technical School encounter. The aforementioned key informants are important partners for health planning and for health promotion in the Central Technical School community, as they are the main supportive groups in the school community. For example, the school’s child and youth counselor helps and consults with students, and provides assistance in referrals and connecting them with services such as housing, community health centers and more. The school settlement worker also assists students, particularly those who are new migrants based on their needs. By working collaborately with the key informants, the needs of the community can be easily identified. For example, I was able to access the information (data) concerning the safety of the school and neighborhood by working collaborately with the school police. Moreover, the school guidance counselor provided us with important quantitative data such as Central Technical
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Summary of Findings of Target Community
There are about 1,790 students enrolled in Central Technical School, and compared to Toronto’s average, the school comprises higher percentage of blacks, mixed, Southeast Asia, Latin America and aboriginal racial groups where the majority of the students are first generation. Central Technical School community members are not representative of the surrounding neighborhood (UNIVERSITY/ANNEX) where the socio-economic status of this neighborhood is middle-to-high. Most of the students come from different areas of GTA, and in some cases, outside GTA. According to the key informants in the school, the two key social determinants of health that have impacts on the health of the students are poverty and low social status. The major health issue that the students deal with is mental health issues, particularly anxiety and depression. The school provides various services in response to students’ needs. There are multiple guidance counselors, school physiologist, full-time social worker, child and youth counselor, and settlements programs for new comer students in Canada.
Effects of Target Community in the Aggregate Community
The findings of the social determinants of health that affect my target community, which are poverty and low social status, also have a big impact on my aggregate community. The
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child and youth counselor of the school stated that because of poverty and low income family background, students work either part-time or full-time jobs which result in students experiencing a lack of sleep. This lack of sleep can contribute to mental health issues, which are mostly anxiety and depression. Stamler & Yiu, (2012) stated that “income and socio economic status are positively associated with education, good health, and quality of life” (220). Mikkonen & Raphael, (2010) also added that income is a main social determinant of health because it can determine the quality of other determinants of health such as quality of food, housing, education and other factors. Social and economic conditions of the community play a big role in the health and well-being of individuals (Stamler & Yiu, 2012).
Preliminary Recommendations
As previously mentioned, the main health issues that the students at Central Technical School face is mental health issues, particularly, depression and anxiety. The recommendations that I suggest to address these issues is as follows:
1) Improving the socioeconomic status of the students and their parents
One of the factors for high levels of physiological and psychological stress is low socioeconomic status (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010). Improving the poor living conditions of the societies, which is the root causes for many health issues, must be the focus in order to reduce stress and improve the health out come (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010). Safaei (2012) also stated that in order to decrease mental illness hospitalization in Canada, the living conditions of aboriginal people and other financially disadvantaged groups should be improved. “Among the socioeconomic determinants, only the prevalence of low income persons in a community generally shows greater associations with mental health outcomes” (Safaei, 2012, 6).
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2) Build healthy public policy
Our health depends on how income and wealth is distributed, and polices shape health equity, which is achieved through intersectorial approach (Reutter & Eastlick, 2010). One of the strategies to reduce health disparities is equitable distribution of power, money and resource (Reutter & Eastlick, 2010). Rice (2010) also suggests the best strategy to reduce health inequality is targeting both behavior and the root causes of inequality. Policy makers have to focus on strategies that improve the socioeconomic status of students, particularly family income and education, as students’ mental health issues are strongly related to parent education and income (Davis et al., 2010). When people earn enough money they can afford the necessities they need for the betterment of their family. According to Mikkonen and Raphael (2010), “elected representatives and decision-makers must commit themselves to implementing policy that ensures good quality social determinants of health for every Canadian (12).
Conclusion
In conclusion, this community assessment identified both socioeconomic and medical issues that have risen within the student population at Central Technical School. Additionally, evidence suggests that these ailments that hinder the target community also affect the greater aggregate community. Measures need to be taken in order to help improve the socioeconomic conditions of the parents with students at Central Technical School, and this can be achieved through collaboration to build healthy public policy. The key informants identified in this assessment are imperative to making these efforts a success. It should be the primary concern of citizens and policymakers alike to help ensure a positive future for all community members, regardless of their income or social status.
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References
Community Health Nurses Association of Canada. (2003). Canadian Community Health
Nursing: Standards of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.chnac.ca/Standards.htm.
Davis, E., Sawyer, Michael G., Lo, S. K., Priest, N., & Wake, M. (2010). Socioeconomic risk
factors for mental health problems in 4-5-year-old children: Australian population study. Academic Pediatrics, 10(1), 41-7. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/docview/527897078?accountid=15182.
Mikkonen, J., & Raphael, D. (2010). Social determinants of health: The Canadian facts.
Toronto, ON, CAN: York University School of Health Policy and Management.
Reutter, L., & Eastlick Kushner, K. (2010). 'Health equity through action on the social
determinants of health': taking up the challenge in nursing. Nursing inquiry, 17(3), 269-
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Rice, W. (2011). Health promotion through an equity lens. Toronto: Wellesley Institute.
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Safaei, J. (2012). Socioeconomic and Demographic Determinants of Mental Health across
Canadian Communities. Internet Journal Of Mental Health, 8(1), 1. doi:10.5580/2c23.
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Stamler, L., and Yiu, L. (2012). Community Health Nursing a Canadian Perspective. Toronto,
Ontario: Pearson Canada, INC.
