Windshield Survey Paper
It is the responsibility of a community health nurse to undertake an assessment of a community so as to ascertain factors that affect the health of the inhabitants. Community assessment can be used as a technique of determining availability of resources, health status, and needs of populace in regard to provision of health services (Hunt, 2013). I had a chance to conduct an observation of two different vicinities as I drove through Iowa which is a small Southeastern town. Below is a discussion of what I personally observed.
First Neighborhood
The first neighborhood was in a small town located in the outskirts of Iowa town. I evaluated the environs by examining the attributes of people living in the neighborhood. As I was driving in the morning hours, I came across a man in his early 30s doing a fitness exercise a football pitch. With him, was other two ladies who were having a rest after several minutes of doing exercise. They were well-dressed in full track suits which was favorable for the cold weather. From my own judgement, I concluded that this individuals were concerned with their healthy well-being. As I drove across the same street, I saw a black lady outside her house. The lady was working on her flower bed and lawn. Houses around this area were new and big in size. The streets were neat with no any kind of litter. While driving I could see the drainage systems that are in good condition. A few walks down the street, I saw council workers conducting cleanliness along the streets. From my own judgment it seemed people in this vicinity seemed to be middle-class. Notably, I did not come close to any house abandoned, or with For Sale notice. From what I saw, people in this neighborhood were well informed on matters of their healthy living.
This town seemed a health and nice place for living. There were no cases of visual and communicable ailments, mental conditions, drug abuse, and alcoholism. From what I saw I can conclusively say, that people in this surrounding were informed and they were less likely to be affected by disease since their environment was clean and children had good parental care. The most important thing about this neighborhood is that social amenities like hospitals, schools, playgrounds, and church were accessible. The accessibility of these facilities indicates that the people are economically able and well-informed on matters relating to their health. A gas point and grocery was a few meters walk and I saw many people go there to purchase goods. A grade school, bank, health clinic, and church were within the neighborhood. Evidently, there was no any industrial firm in the neighborhood. Roads were marked with signs and were wide enough allowing easy accessibility to the health center.
Second Neighborhood
I later drove to the East of Iowa town, and here the scene was totally different from what I saw in the first neighborhood. The first thing I noticed were old house which were smaller and house and in many occasion there were no window and were covered with polythene bags. Some were left uncovered with loose doors. In comparison to the first neighborhood, there were no garages making people to park carelessly allover. It was evident that some houses were abandoned by the council in charge of the town. As I drove by the street I saw many old cars that were lying without wheels and weed had grown tall around. I came across many people seated on the streets while drinking beer and smoking at this early time of the day. Kids wore tone cloths as they played on the rough road. Some kids threw mad at my car as the adults sitting adjacent laughed and saw no need to stop the kid. As I drove, it required me to be extra careful bearing the state of the roads and kids playing all over. Making matters worse, the kids who were playing on the road were barefoot and not well-dressed for the cold weather which heightened the risks of getting injured or even getting diseases.
The drainage systems in this neighborhood was horrible. The litter was thrown carelessly and people here never bothered of living a healthier life. Access to social amenities was not readily available. School and church was in 8 blocks, a community health center within 8 blocks. Though this facilities were available to the residents, I realized that they are not concerned of giving their kids a decent life. They left them to play whole day without monitoring their condition. This is a challenge as it will be difficult to go for medical services since they were not caring for their health. Conversely, the two neighborhoods lived a totally different lives. It would be good for the relevant authorities to take responsibility by bettering lives of those living in poor neighborhoods. Social amenities should be made accessible by ensuring infrastacture improvements on roads.
References
Hunt, Roberta. (2013). Introduction to Community-Based Nursing (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.