Health Assessment Assignment l: Paint a Picture of Your Target Population & Community Assignment #1
Community
A health assessment is a care plan that is used for the identification of specific health care needs of an individual and how addressing of those needs will be carried out through health care system or nursing facility. For the purpose of this health assessment assignment, the selected place is the Altamonte Spring-Dade County, which is in the southeastern region of the Florida state (Miami Beach, 2015). The selected region is heavily urbanized due to the excessive development carried out within the last few decades. According to the US Census Bureau (2015), the population of the county is 2,662,874 that make the county most populated county in the State of Florida. In addition to this, the total area of the county is 2,431 sq. mi (6,300 km2), 1,898 sq. mi (4,920 km2) is the distribution of the land. On the other hand, the 533 sq. mi (1,380 km2) is the part that is covered by water .
The ocean touches the boundaries of the county and also interlinked with the Biscayne Blvd due to which it is considered as the most important roadways of Altamonte Spring. The NW 17th Avenue (west to east) is associated with the extension of the county, whereas the boundaries were extending from the areas North to South covers the areas located near NW 121st Street and NE 163rd Street. The economic conditions of the county are underpinned with 7.80% unemployment rate, 0.18% is the rate of employment and it is expected that the future rate of employment would be 32.60% . A significant variation is observed in the level of income among the people of the county. The residential areas are instilled with apartments, complexes, as well as single-family houses. Moreover, the residential areas are well maintained with modern housing system .
Demographic Data of Florida and County Altamonte Spring Zip: 32701
(2010-2015)
The region selected for the purpose of comparison with the Altamonte Spring with the state Florida to identify the health issues prevailing in the country. The population of the county is 19,893,297 due to which it is considered as the third most populated state (US Census Bureau, 2015).The satistic reveal that the obesity among children in the community is growing with a higher rate within ethnic group which has become a major health issue. The average rate of obesity among children within whites is 6.10 percent, whereas in African American is reported to 11.40 percent. There is increase rate of obesity among children is influenced by social economic status as well as family structure which needs to be carefully identified. In addition to this, business of boats is also a major source of income for a number of people. The underlying reason for comparing both the counties is the similar demographics that in turn is contributing to the development of different health conditions among the people. Additionally, the counties also share similar social conditions including lower middle class and the moderate level of education.
Childhood obesity is a clinical condition that underpins with the aspect of excessive fat deposition in the body that may alter health and quality of life of such children. It is noted that the intake of unhealthy food and practices of sedentary behaviors are resulting in significant weight gain due to which development of obesity among children is prevailing at a pace. On the other hand, childhood obesity is entrenched with immediate as well as long-term effects and can exacerbate other health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and osteoarthritis . One of the major concerns associated with childhood obesity is psychological issues resulting in poor self-esteem and stigmatization.
Population
The rate of overweight and obesity tends to be higher in African American children as compared to the children with another ethnic background. It is noted that obesity rates increase at earlier ages, and the rate of African American obese children with the age between 2 to 19 was 20.2% by the end of 2012 whereas, the rate of White American obese children was 14.3% in the year 2012 (The State of Obesity, 2014). The reason behind the development of obesity and overweight among children is the screening of fast food commercials that is viewed several times in a day by children. Television commercials and billboards have played a major role in the marketing of unhealthy food products. Due to the consumption of high caloric food products, obese children are more prone towards sedentary behaviors and lack of engagement in physical exercise.
With the extensive prevalence of obesity among childhood, some environmental factors tend to participate in the development of such condition that mainly depends on the poor lifestyle choices and obstacles in the attainment of health care facilities . In this regard, following variables are selected by health care services disparities resulting due to limited resources.
The reason for selecting the variables mentioned above is to evaluate the disparities occurring in the attainment of the best possible health outcomes for African American children presented with the condition of obesity. In addition to this, a number of African-American families are deprived of affording health and social care services due to limited resources and less income. Lower household income and poverty are the factors that are aligned with an increased rate of obesity. On the other hand, lack of resources promotes unhealthy practices as the consumption of unhygienic and high caloric food becomes readily available, alongside neglecting physical activities (LaVeist, Gaskin, & Richard, 2011). It is noted that fast food and other unhealthy food items are less expensive, and excessive advertisement of such products persuade children. Conversely, African American families live in areas where they lack significant access to supermarkets and fresh produce (Zip Code 33002). The people are involved in the practices of unhealthy lifestyles with the excessive consumption of junk food due to easy accessibility .
Television commercials and billboards play an essential role in the prevalence of obesity among children. It is noted that African American children who are at the mainstay of developing obesity are presented with increased screening time that is two times more than the screening time spent by White Children (LaVeist, Gaskin, & Richard, 2011). The products that are marketed at an extensive rate that includes advertisement of sweetened beverages and less nutritional foods and snacks. Similarly, the issue of sedentary behavior has now become more common among African American children as the achievement of healthy energy balance is aligned with the engagement of inadequate amount of physical activities.
According to the study of Dias & Whitaker (2013), 21.5% is the rate of African American child who avoid participation in at least one hour of physical exercise at daily basis, whereas the rate of White American child who involved in physical activities is 12.7%. In addition to this, limited access to playgrounds, parks, or recreational centers is entrenched with 20% to 45% greater risk of gaining weight in children . One of the major reason that limits the involvement in outdoor activities is the safety concerns related to African American children. In this regard, the perception of African American mothers reflects neighborhood security, particularly the violence threats, and strong influences put forward by the daily environment in which their daughters can participate.
Stakeholders
In the light of the health concern and target population, the stakeholders will be of great benefit for the attainment of best possible outcomes within the county . Therefore, the stakeholders will be parents of the obese children, health care department, health care providers, and dieticians. The planning process will be carried out by the involvement of aforementioned stakeholders by their designated roles and responsibilities. The parents will be provided with the responsibility to encourage their children for the involvement in physical exercise, alongside making healthy choices of life by the adoption of the healthy lifestyle. The parents will also reduce the time of television screening. The reduction in television screening time will reduce the purchase of unhealthy food items.
The role of health care department will be entailed with the significant focus on the dissemination of health care services and the resources allocation through which barriers in the facilitation of health care services can be elevated . Additionally, the health care providers will not only provide care services, but they will also support parents and obese children morally. Lastly, the dieticians will assist the obese children and their parents by providing a balanced diet plan. Through the diet plan, children will be able to understand the need for healthy food consumption to stay healthy alongside involving in physical activities twice a day.
References
Almufleh, A., Gabriel, T., Tokayer, L., Comerford, M., Alaqeel, A., & Kurlansky, P. (2015). Role of community health outreach program “living for health”® in improving access to federally qualified health centers in Miami-dade county, Florida: a cross-sectional study. BMC health services research, 15(1), 1.
Dias, J., & Whitaker, R. (2013). Black mothers' perceptions about urban neighborhood safety and outdoor play for their preadolescent daughters. Journal of Health Care Poor & Underserved, 24(1), 206-219.
LaVeist, T., Gaskin, D., & Richard, P. S. (2011). Estimating the economic burden of racial health inequalities in the United States. Int J Health Serv, 41(2), 231-238.
Miami Beach. (2015). Miami Beach. Retrieved from http://miamibeachfl.gov/publicsafety/
The State of Obesity. (2014, September). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity. Retrieved from http://stateofobesity.org/disparities/blacks/
US Census Bureau. (2015). State & County QuickFacts. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12086.html
Ward, D. S., Vaughn, A., & Story, M. (2013). Expert and stakeholder consensus on priorities for obesity prevention research in early care and education settings. Childhood Obesity, 9(2), 116-124.
