Community need assessment

NUR2680L Community Needs Assessment QEP Paper TEMPLATE

Reflection

(In this section, you may now begin to write in first person (I, me, my).

Address the following questions in a narrative fashion:

· Explain how learning about a windshield survey and conducting one has affected the way that you view communities in general or this community specifically.

· How can nursing as a discipline advocate for communities like this to address the needs

identified?

· Identify three opportunities that you as a future health care professional could seek out to become civically engaged within your community.

· How do you think the role of community health nurses will evolve in the future?

(Provide the reader with an outline (in narrative form) of what you will accomplish in this paper.) Introduce the community being assessed (zip code, location, boundaries, type of dwellings). Give a very brief overview of some of the needs in your community that you discovered as a result of this study. What could be the role of community health nursing to meet these needs?

Community Data

(Make sure to cite reliable and professional sources- Healthy People, US Census, Miami Matters, etc)

People: Based on your research, discuss the community demographics, social factors, and cultural factors. This includes who makes up the community, the socio-economic status, and cultural influences. Also include your observations from the windshield survey.

Environment: Discuss the physical and social environments that can affect health. This includes discussing available public spaces (parks, playgrounds, gardens) and are the spaces clean and maintained or littered? Include observations from the windshield survey such as the availability of bike lanes, streetlights, or sidewalks (are they maintained or cracked.) Other environmental factors to consider are signs, billboards, and graffiti. Are there concerns with air, water, or noise pollution? Is violence an issue or does it feel safe?

Social Systems: Discuss the health systems available (hospitals, urgent care, assisted living, pharmacies), resources (buses/trains, grocery stores, farmers’ markets, places of worship, schools, childcare, food pantries, fast food vs healthy food options) and services (police, fire, gyms, YMCA, museums, cultural centers).

Summary

(Summarize the most important points and draw any final conclusions about topic ).

State the priority needs (top 1 or 2) that have been identified by conducting this community needs assessment. Explain how this need makes the community vulnerable to negative health outcomes and how nurses could help meet this need.

Recommendations

Identify an organization or program within the community that aims to address the need(s) you have discussed. Present the organization’s mission or vision and discuss how it relates to the Healthy People goals? Give an example of a specific topic objective that it aims to meet.

(Remember to cite Healthy People within your paper and in the reference page.)

Analysis

Based on all the information you have gathered through research and observation, identify a few strengths of the community. Identify the top 1 or 2 needs that you would recommend focusing on. Discuss why those needs should be the priority focus. Explain how it relates to a Healthy People topic and goal.

(Remember to cite Healthy People within your paper and in the reference page).