Introduction
A community health assessment is a vital practice that determines the various aspects that either promotes or deter sustainable health practices. As such, it is essential to analyze the community for the people's needs, the available resources that could be used in providing a solution, the assets in the community as well as the strengths that the particular community exhibits and could be used in facilitating the problem-solving process. In this respect, the paper shows an analysis of Riverside County, California for these elements that could help identify and solve the health issues that affect the county.
Resources in Riverside County
There are various identifiable resources in Riverside County that can be used for the health assessment exercise. They include data that can be fetched from databases of various health entities such as hospitals, family assistance programs, and family advocacy and support programs as well as community developmental and educational entities. However, the health services entities provide the best resources for a health assessment exercise. The Riverside County Call Center provides a free comprehensive public platform from which over 2000 data categories concerning the county can be accessed from. Essentially, the health records such as reports from health departments of various institutions and organizations are accessible from the platform.
Further, non-health data such as population can indirectly provide data essential for the assessment exercise. As such, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can provide vital information on environmental measurements. The Press-Enterprise newspaper can be used to obtain the daily record of Riverside County dynamics, health-related concerns, the Riverside County culture as well as its mode of decision-making. Information concerning the companies' environmental toxins and other pollutants can be fetched from the Riverside County Public Health. Besides, the people of Riverside County are very compliant to interviews and could offer an excellent opportunity for gathering health-related concerns that they feel should be arrested.
Riverside County Strengths and Concerns
Notably, the health assessment activity can be best enforced by the Riverside Department of Public Health (DOPH). As such, the stability of the unit is critical to the effectiveness of the health assessment and promotion activity (Edelman, Mandle & Kudzma, 2013). The DOPH staff members are elite, committed and work to maintain high quality and ethical standards. As such, their community contribution is significant and visible through their use of evidence-based and promising practices such as sophisticated R&D equipment. Essentially, the locals show unity when they are pursuing a beneficial objective in cases where they can gather to discuss pressing issues, formally or informally. Also, the county and state enjoy one of the best political leaderships that have over time offered support in times of disasters or conflicts. In this respect, there is immediate support from the local governments that guarantees the fulfillment of critical goals.
However, of late, the county have been faced with a financial crisis with high rates of a significant number of services. This has brought forth the debate of the threat in preparedness in cases of natural disasters as has been seen in the case of the emerging infectious diseases (Gamboa-Maldonado et al., 2012). Besides, the county has been faced with a high rate of loss of major competencies due to retirement. As recovered from the Riverside County call center, majority of the working populations are aging with the major competencies at risk come their retirement times. This means that the county will have to outsource labor from the neighboring counties that could be expensive or inconvenient. Further, the county lacks the necessary capital to maintain a competitive remittance scheme that can solve the understaffing problem. Besides, the limited capital cannot help when the county needs primary resources of data.
Possible Hindrances in Riverside County
Before identifying the potential barriers, it is essential to identify the specific objectives that should be accomplished. As such, to reduce the health risks, the community will need to be encouraged on healthy eating practices and active living. The advocacy will be done through partnerships and policies as well as the expansion of activity opportunities in various settings. Lastly, the community will be enlightened on the tobacco control strategies that will be put in place. They include the adoption of policies that will limit the use of tobacco in public areas where people work, study or even public transport. Essentially, tobacco use has revived a bond of contention from health workers on their credibility in controlling its use and its adverse effect that are affecting a significant number of smokers.
Various barriers to implementation of the health plans are evident despite the critical nature of the issues. Specific issues such as obesity are precipitators of other health issues such as high blood pressure. As such, there is dire need to arrest the issue since its multiple effects undermine the health costs that are already inadequate to the county. Smoking that has been on the rise in the county has brought to Riverside symptoms that were only visible in other countries (Chen, Li & Allen, 2010). The affected smokers have described their rest, exercise, health management, and metabolic patterns that have been found to be irregular.
In this regard, it is vital to begin campaigns against irresponsible smoking and healthy eating habits. Besides, the best healthy foods can be availed at various shopping joints from where they can be bought from. As a result, the county will have to increase its budget to import or produce the products as well as increasing the personnel during the health assessment promotion exercise.
Conclusion
A subtle feasibility study can prove that the assessment process will be successful. The social and economic aspects that are to be rectified will just require a proper ‘marketing’ strategy that will be accepted by the locals such that they will comply with the policies adopted without resistance. However, capital will be a necessary resource that will enhance the acquisition of the expected deliverables.
References
Chen, X., Li, B. L., & Allen, M. F. (2010). Characterizing urbanization, and agricultural and conservation land‐use change in Riverside County, California, USA. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1195(s1), E164-E176.
Edelman, C. L., Mandle, C. L., & Kudzma, E. C. (2013). Health promotion throughout the life span. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Gamboa-Maldonado, T., Marshak, H. H., Sinclair, R., Montgomery, S., & Dyjack, D. T. (2012). Building capacity for community disaster preparedness: A call for collaboration between public environmental health and emergency preparedness and response programs. Journal of environmental health, 75(2), 24.
