Community Assessment: Health Issues In Perrysburg, Ohio

A community can be defined as “a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.” The aim of the community assessment is to determine the specific community’s strengths such as talents, skills and performance as well as the needs and challenges. Local institutions including religion, politics and education are important role players in the community and its influences. Butterfoss (2007) stresses the importance of the early enrollment of a community assessment to better address concerns. This assessment identifies community health issues in the Perrysburg Ohio community and each factor by using the PESTLE framework for establishing other contributing factors such as the Political, Economic/Education, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental aspects. The PESTLE framework is coupled with the SOAR (Situation, Object, Action and Result) method of appreciative inquiry (Smathers, 2015).

Politics

The political environment of the community influences the health aspects by the policies implements by them as well as the electoral behavior influencing the well-fare of the citizens. The presence of social workers and politicians are evident during electoral activities and people tend to turn to churches and community leaders for guidance and assistance. A current example is the possible implementation of the school levy system which if not implemented, can lead to teachers losing their jobs. The reigning political party can also affect legislation and consequently the communities and way of life by society which can either be positive or negative.

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Economics / Education

Various economic factors contribute to the health issues in the community. The percentage of residents with health insurance seems to be employment-based and must be compared to the people with public health insurance. Different types of health insurance are observed and directly influence the access of the community to certain level of medical treatment and options. The income and employment levels of the community can attribute towards the health problems experienced. There are higher percentages of both families and children living below 100% of the federal poverty level resulting in a decrease in accessibility to health related sources. The educational attainment and proficiency influence the probability of employment and the level of employment which indirectly affects the income and ability to provide in the family member’s needs. In lower income areas teenage pregnancies are observed where the teenager will leave school. A lot of the people from this socio-economic background is also unable to complete college due to the financial strains attached thereto (Jepson, 2016). This results in impoverishment of a community and a decline in accessibility to health care and knowledge needed.

Social Factors

Housing and homelessness are an issue in the community. People with an increase financial status have access to better housing enabling them to live a higher quality life because of the extensive network of contact with better schools, hospitals, water and sanitation. This can also influence the community members’ ability to access healthy, fresh food and can consequently affect health. Institutions for health are accessible by foot in the community but high volumes of out-patient waiting rooms cause frustration and accelerate the problem. Food insecurity is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as a lack of access to enough food for an active, healthy life and limited availability of nutritionally adequate foods. Homeless people of the community have food insecurities which can lead to diseases. Poor people do not have the same nutritional intake as people of higher status, and this cause their immunity to be suppressed and leading to an increase risk of obtaining different types of illnesses. Food access is a critical matter and the use of food stamps is evident and more prevalent in single households which seemed to be more financial strained in comparison to dual income families. The lack of education leading to poverty in return can cause limitations on food availability and is a viscous cycle that needs to be broken (Miller, 2018).

Technology

Social media platforms have become the norm as the primary networking tool between community members. This is progressively replacing the more traditional methods such as community-and social gatherings which can be seen in the community where people gather in parks, social events, barber shops and community playgrounds. The increase in technology can cause an increase in mental health issues such as suicide but can also be of an advantage with the sharing of knowledge. Technology has contributed in connecting different communities from different countries even enabling to share insight on policies that is successful which can be implemented in this community.

Law

Crime and safety of the community is also variable between different areas in the community. There are incidences of domestic cases, violence, muggings and robbery but according to the Police it is mostly attributable to drug-and alcohol related crimes. Public policies enable the limitations and guidance to act within the law. Crime can increase stress related illnesses observed in the community and can even increase mortality rates. It is important to control crime and the consequences thereof. The community has active and visible police controlling to aid in the combat of crime prevention and the safe keeping of the community’s citizens.

Environment

The health resource availability and the variety thereof are observed in the community. It is directly related to the different regions in this area and affected by the socio-demographic status of the people. Public transport is developed and can be easily used. Higher income community members tend to own their own vehicle and commute privately where people from lower income are more likely to use community-and public transport such as trains. The interactive transport system enables community members to have better access to health institutions. Emergency health access can be impeded because of the logistics surrounding each situation. Public amenities such as parks are frequent and well looked after with adequate and clean water supply to the community. This in return prevents the spread of community-acquired diseases within the community.

Community health problems

This assessment establish six main community health issues being obesity, infant mortality, access to health care, mental health and addiction, chronic conditions and infectious diseases. These issues are closely connected to the socio-economic factors discusses.

The problem of obesity is evident in the general population and is also a major risk factor contributing to chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and strokes. Obesity can mostly be overcome by lifestyle changes as well as medication. The introduction of healthy living in the form of food choices and exercise can be a positive contributor in resolving this problem. Guidelines and programs are readily available at free health care facilities and clinics to enable all members of community to take part in such events. The importance of exercise must be emphasized as it can also aid in reducing mental related illnesses and ensure for a lower stress level.

Infant mortality is also increasing due to lack of education and social factors such as poverty. Awareness campaigns on healthy parenting and relationships can assist teenagers to ensure safe and stable housing as well as access to health facilities including doctors, dietitians and nurses to improve access to reproductive health planning and education. Parenting and pregnancy programs are available in various health institutions. Infectious diseases such as sexually transmitted (Syphilis, Gonorrhea, HIV) disease are prevalent in the youth where adequate education is needed as prevention. This will also aid in reducing births as a result of lifestyle choices. Babies born from parents involved in drugs can present with health issues at birth. The suicide rate is also increasing due to health stressors and environmental pressures experienced in society. The creation and existence of support groups and care coordination will aid in combating these problems. Education on relevant problems will ensure for adequate treatment and will encourage members of society to seek help when needed. Access to health care can be increased by education on free clinics and community health centers and dental clinics. Another evident problem is alcohol and drug abuse especially among younger adults which is also experienced in poorer part of the community. This leads to sexually transmitted diseases and increase in crime activities. There are direct health consequences from the use of alcohol and drugs, but it also has a devastating effect on families and social community settings. This leads to stress factors and emotional health problems for people living with drug and/or alcohol abusers. This problem can be resolved by enabling these users to access supporting groups and to know where to seek help.

Situation: Community Profile

The profile of this community relies on various factors. By compiling data on these aspects, it creates a standard to measure future happenings against and to identify positive and negative aspects experienced. The statistics of each community varies due to the different composition of factors influencing each community. It is of utmost importance to gather data specifically related to this community to enable adequate assessment and analysis. It will also aid in contributing to already researched literature and to identify areas of growth and areas of short falls. The data used to identify this specific community profile is obtained from The Community Workshop Report Perrysburg, Ohio by Miller et al. (2018).

Object

The aim of this windshield systematic assessment is to determine the various socio-economic strengths and weaknesses of the community which cause and influence the various health related issues experienced and to find resolution to overcome these obstacles. This is done by acknowledging the specific community profile and the composition of influential factors and by directly corresponding to members of this community to establish possible weaknesses and strengths as well as resolutions for current problems.

Action: Health Project

This report uses academical information from various universities, researchers, health professionals as well as public and private local institutions. The visioning session was done on different residents of the Perrysburg community from various backgrounds. This data obtain from the assessment of the community members will be use in collaboration with academic literature.

The first step was to identify the sample group from the community and divide them into small groups or subgroups. The subgroups had to identify factors which are seen as bad or worse in the community as well as aspects in the community contributing to the good. The subgroups evidently also had to give their opinion on the incidences they think contribute to the worsening of community problems as well as enhancing the good. The second step was to cluster the data obtained from the group discussing and categorize into different categories. The third step was to use the clustered data to identify the health needs and issues from them. The last step was to prioritize the health needs of the specific community and compare it with relevant literature to enable optimum conclusive material.

Result

The results indicated the occurrence of six major health risks being obesity, infant mortality, access to health care, mental health and addiction, chronic conditions and infectious diseases (such as sexually transmitted diseases). Theses health risks can be directly or indirectly associated with the socio-economic status of the community participants as well as demographic aspects such as age, race and gender.

The occurrence of obesity can be correlated to lower income households not having access or knowledge regarding better lifestyles and health choices. The other side is also true where higher income members can spend more on refined foods. The problem of obesity escalated other health problems such as diabetes, stroke and heart disease which varies from age. Infant mortality, access to health care and infectious diseases is inter-correlated. Most of these occurrences are due to low financial abilities as well as lack of education. This is more prevalent in the youth where teenagers fell pregnant and in return need to leave schools. Because of a lack of resources, they engage in unprotected sexual activities which can also cause sexual transmitted diseases. Access to healthcare is also correlated with lower income community members where health care insurance is not an option. Drug-and alcohol abuse also cause infectious diseases but also relates to other mental health issues such as suicide. The abuse of substances is more evident in younger adults and is connected to social and financial factors. Drug-and alcohol abuse is also a contributing factor to premature deaths due to the lack of knowledge of the side effects substance abuse can have on a fetus. Mental health issues observed is divided between age groups where Alzheimer’s and Dementia is some of the more prevalent disease occurrences. In the younger adults’ mental disorders such as depression can lead to suicidal behavior due to a lack of medication or limited access or knowledge of support groups and clinics. The social environment some of these members are situated in can also cause an increase in the occurrence of suicidal incidences.

Conclusion

There is a correlation between socio-economic factors and health risks associated in the community. An effective approach and solution can be established in the concomitant function of community institutions, government and health clinics. It is important that the youth is educated adequately on all accessible health systems to prevent occurrences of diseases that can lead to an increase in mortality. With the collaboration of all parties involved an optimum stable approach can be obtained.

References

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