Community Health Assessment

            The ultimate goal of healthcare is to improve patient outcomes and raise the quality of healthcare services. These have become the main objective of all healthcare systems worldwide as they define the desired patient outcome. Community health assessments are important to realizing the healthcare issue affecting the community (Cunningham et al., 2018). Then, it would be effective to develop an effective intervention plan to correct the problem noted in the community. The assessment was done in Jordan, a small Minnesota town. Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to assess the healthcare needs of a selected community and summarize the results.

Executive Summary

General Condition and Public Health Needs

            The outcome from the windshield survey shows that the rate of people who have diabetes is high despite measures that have been taken to solve the issue. The community has been adopting various evidence-based practices to address the problem despite the measures taken not giving the desired results. The following graph shows the variation in the healthcare problem.

Assessment 2 Instructions

Assess the health care needs of a selected community by completing an environmental analysis and a virtual windshield survey. Summarize the results of your assessment in a 2-3 page executive summary.

Introduction

Health care must be evidence-based, effective, efficient, and affordable; it must provide resources that meet the needs of the community. Nurse leaders must understand and thoroughly evaluate the environment to enable the efficient and equitable allocation of resources. A useful tool for this type of assessment is commonly called a windshield survey. Windshield surveys are what you might expect from the name. They are a way of gathering information about specific aspects of a community while driving around, such as the condition of roads, buildings, and housing.

This assessment provides an opportunity to examine the prevailing health conditions and social determinants of health in a community by completing an environmental analysis and a virtual windshield survey based on communities within the Vila Health system. Although Vila Health is a virtual lab, the communities represented in this simulation are real, enabling you to conduct an actual community health assessment.

Preparation

Executive leaders at Vila Health have asked you to provide them with your assessment of the health conditions in one of the communities served by the Vila Health system. Knowing that a windshield survey is needed to validate any underlying assumptions about the needs of the community and inform evidence-based decision making and strategic planning, you have decided to conduct a first-hand exploration of the community, followed up by an environmental analysis. An environmental analysis examines the factors that can influence the performance of a health care organization, which is important in a rapidly changing health care environment.

To prepare for the assessment, you are encouraged to begin thinking about how an environmental analysis and windshield survey contribute to assessing community health care needs. In addition, you may wish to:

• Review the assessment requirements and scoring guide to ensure that you understand the work you will be asked to complete.
• Review Guiding Questions: Assessing Community Health Care Needs [DOCX], which includes questions to consider and additional guidance on how to successfully complete the assessment.

Note: As you revise your writing, check out the resources listed on the Writing Center’s Writing Support page.

The following resource is required to complete the assessment.

• Vila Health: Environmental Analysis and Windshield Survey.

Vila Health is a virtual environment that simulates a real-world health care system. In the various Vila Health scenarios, you will apply professional strategies, practice skills, and build competencies that you can apply to your coursework and in your career. The information you gather in this scenario will help you to complete the assessment.

Templates

Use this template for your community health assessment.

• Community Health Assessment Template [DOCX].

Requirements

Complete this assessment in two steps:

1. If you have not already done so, complete the Vila Health: Environmental Analysis and Windshield Survey simulation.
2. Write an executive summary of your community health assessment, based on your windshield survey and environmental analysis.

The community health assessment requirements outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. The Guiding Questions: Assessing Community Health Care Needs document provides additional considerations that may be helpful in completing your assessment. In addition, be sure to note the requirements below for document format and length and for citing supporting evidence.

• Assess, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective.
• Analyze the environmental factors affecting population health in a community.
• Identify the social determinants of health in a community.
• Summarize windshield survey and environmental analysis findings for executive leaders.
• Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.
• Support findings and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.

Document Format and Length

• Use the Community Health Assessment Template. This APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] can help you in writing and formatting your assessment. If you would like to use a different worksheet for your community health assessment, obtain prior approval from faculty.
• The executive summary portion of your survey and analysis should be 2–3 pages in length.
• Be sure to apply correct APA formatting to all source citations and references.

Supporting Evidence

Cite 3–5 credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications to support your executive summary.

Additional Requirements

Proofread your executive summary before you submit it, to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your assessment.

Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save your community health assessment to your ePortfolio.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Identify the challenges and opportunities facing health care.
  • Assess, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective.
  • Analyze the environmental factors affecting population health in a community.
  • Identify the social determinants of health in a community.
• Competency 4: Develop proactive strategies to change the culture of the organization by incorporating evidence-based practices.
  • Summarize windshield survey and environmental analysis findings for executive leaders.
• Competency 5: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
  • Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.
  • Support assertions, arguments, propositions, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.

Assessing Community Health Care Needs Scoring Guide

Criteria	Non-performance	Basic	Proficient	Distinguished
Assess, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective.	Does not assess, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective.	Assesses, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective, but misses important indicators of health needs within the community.	Assesses, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective.	Assesses, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective. Specifies applicable safety concerns and the limitations of the survey.
Analyze the environmental factors affecting population health in a community.	Does not analyze the environmental factors affecting population health in a community.	Analyzes the environmental factors affecting population health in a community, but does not include all available information or overlooks key factors affecting population health outcomes.	Analyzes the environmental factors affecting population health in a community.	Analyzes the environmental factors affecting population health in a community. Clearly articulates key health issues, opportunities, and threats. Conclusions are well-supported by credible evidence.
Identify the social determinants of health in a community.	Does not identify the social determinants of health in a community.	Identifies the social determinants of health in a community, but makes unsubstantiated claims or overlooks important contextual factors related to culture and behavioral norms.	Identifies the social determinants of health in a community.	Identifies the social determinants of health in a community. Draws well-reasoned conclusions from credible evidence and articulates underlying assumptions and uncertainties.
Summarize windshield survey and environmental analysis findings for executive leaders.	Does not summarize environmental analysis and survey findings for executive leaders.	Provides a summary that is insufficient to support reasonable conclusions about community health needs.	Summarizes environmental analysis and survey findings for executive leaders.	Summarizes environmental analysis and survey findings for executive leaders. Information is detailed, accurate, and logically organized. Provides insightful lessons learned.
Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.	Does not write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.	Writing lacks clarity or conciseness, is loosely structured, or includes errors in grammar, mechanics, or APA formatting that inhibit effective communication or detract from good scholarship.	Writes clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.	Writes clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style. Main points, ideas, arguments, or propositions are well-developed and engaging. Adheres to all applicable disciplinary and scholarly writing standards and conventions.
Support assertions, arguments, propositions, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.	Does not support assertions, arguments, propositions, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.	Sources lack relevance or credibility, or the evidence is not persuasive or explicitly supportive of assertions, arguments, propositions or conclusions.	Supports assertions, arguments, propositions, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.	Supports assertions, arguments, propositions, and conclusions with relevant, credible, and convincing evidence. Skillfully combines error-free source citations with a perceptive and accurate synthesis of the evidence.