Scenario
The organization in which you practice is embarking on a new project to better understand the health care needs of the various populations in the community that it serves. You have been asked to join the project to represent your nursing role group. In the first stage of the project, you have been asked to examine community and state demographics to start identifying patterns and trends that can help inform health care practices and improve quality patient outcomes. It has been suggested that the project team begin by searching out relevant government agencies and resources that will help you locate the demographics for either your community or your state. Specifically, you have been asked to look for information regarding demographic makeup, including ethnicity and levels of illness and health status.
It has been noted that many of these resources should be freely available online.
Instructions
As you examine the information that you are collecting, identify a health care need that is currently a concern in your community or state. For example, perhaps you find that your state has one of the highest rates of heart disease in the nation. Once you have identified the health care need in your community, do further exploration to see whether certain groups or populations within your diverse community or state are impacted by this health care need more than others. In our example, elderly and Native American populations are two groups that have a higher prevalence of heart disease.
Appropriately identifying the highly impacted subgroups within your community or state is a key component of this assessment, as you will continue to reference these groups for the upcoming assessments as well.
For this assessment you will develop a concise but comprehensive report of the demographic makeup of the community you have decided to focus upon, as well as
the most significant health concerns. Be sure you are linking the health concerns you are identifying to specific demographic groups within your chosen community.
The bullet points below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Be sure that your submission addresses all of them. You may also want to read the
Identifying Community Health Needs Scoring Guide to better understand how each grading criterion will be assessed.
In your report, make sure to complete the following:
Describe demographic characteristics for your community or state in terms of demographic makeup, ethnicity, and illness and health status.
Identify any patterns or trends regarding populations seen in demographic reports.
Identify groups within the community or state population that are highly impacted by the identified health concern.
Communicate community demographic data and health needs in a manner that is clear and understandable to a variety of potential audiences.
Integrate relevant sources to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.
Additional Requirements
Length of submission: 2–4 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title and reference pages. Your report should be thorough, but concise. No abstract is required for this assessment.
Number of references: Cite a minimum of 3–5 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that illustrate the demographic make up of your chosen community, as well as its specific health care needs. Resources should be no more than five years old.
APA formatting: Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] to help you in writing and formatting your analysis.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Assess population health to guide health promotion and disease prevention initiatives.
Describe demographic characteristics for a community or state in terms of demographic makeup, ethnicity, and illness and health status.
Competency 2: Apply basic epidemiological concepts and tools to understand health care needs.
Identify any patterns or trends regarding populations seen in demographic reports.
Identify groups within the community or state population that are highly impacted by the identified health concern.
Competency 4: Communicate effectively across disciplines, demonstrating respect for self and others.
Communicate community demographic data and health needs in a manner that is clear and understandable to a variety of potential audiences.
