Community Health Nursing Assessment
Community Health Assessment of 78382
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR-443
Fall Session, November 2012
Audrey L. Hendrix
Community Health Assessment of 78382
Introduction
In an effort to promote the health needs within a community, a successful community health nurse (CHN) must focus on the entire population. In order to accomplish this task, the CHN utilizes a scientific approach to determine the priority population focused health needs for the community. According to Nies & McEwen (2011), a population focus involving an assessment of the community is a primary tool utilized in order to develop planning, interventions, and evaluations for the community at large. The purpose of this paper is to determine a priority health problem of a specific community based on demographic data, epidemiological data, and a windshield survey of the community.
Community Data Zip code 78382 is the official postal identification for the city of Rockport, Texas. Rockport is the county seat of Aransas County. Rockport is a Texas Gulf Coast community located on Live Oak Peninsula between Copano and Aransas Bay on State Highway 35. Named for the rock ledge that lies underneath the coastal shore, Rockport was founded after the Civil War as a cattle slaughtering, packing, and shipping port. This industry continued until the late 1800’s when boatbuilding and fishing began to develop into important industries. After the railroad came to Rockport, tourism and the resort business began to thrive (Shukalo, 2005). After the turn of the century, a major hurricane almost destroyed the entire community. Recovery from this devastating natural disaster was slow but by the late 1920’s the community once again began to thrive. At that time, shrimping became a major industry within the community. Throughout the next four decades, the community continued to grow with the main sources of commerce remaining in the areas of fishing, shrimping, and tourism. Today Rockport is
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR-443
Fall Session, November 2012
Audrey L. Hendrix
Community Health Assessment of 78382
Introduction
In an effort to promote the health needs within a community, a successful community health nurse (CHN) must focus on the entire population. In order to accomplish this task, the CHN utilizes a scientific approach to determine the priority population focused health needs for the community. According to Nies & McEwen (2011), a population focus involving an assessment of the community is a primary tool utilized in order to develop planning, interventions, and evaluations for the community at large. The purpose of this paper is to determine a priority health problem of a specific community based on demographic data, epidemiological data, and a windshield survey of the community.
Community Data Zip code 78382 is the official postal identification for the city of Rockport, Texas. Rockport is the county seat of Aransas County. Rockport is a Texas Gulf Coast community located on Live Oak Peninsula between Copano and Aransas Bay on State Highway 35. Named for the rock ledge that lies underneath the coastal shore, Rockport was founded after the Civil War as a cattle slaughtering, packing, and shipping port. This industry continued until the late 1800’s when boatbuilding and fishing began to develop into important industries. After the railroad came to Rockport, tourism and the resort business began to thrive (Shukalo, 2005). After the turn of the century, a major hurricane almost destroyed the entire community. Recovery from this devastating natural disaster was slow but by the late 1920’s the community once again began to thrive. At that time, shrimping became a major industry within the community. Throughout the next four decades, the community continued to grow with the main sources of commerce remaining in the areas of fishing, shrimping, and tourism. Today Rockport is
References: Candib, L. (2007) Obesity and diabetes in vulnerable population: Reflections on proximal and distal causes. Retrieved online from: http://annfammed.org/content/5/6/547.full Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) Obesity http://www.cdc.gov/obesity Kaiser Health News (2012) Texas Onboard Informatics (2010) Aransas County, Texas (TX). Retrieved online from: http://www.city-data.com/county/Aransas-County-Tx.html Scorecard (2012) Pollution report card. Retrieved online from: http://scorecard.goodguide.com Shukalo, A. (2005) Handbook of Texas online. Retrieved online from: http://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hgr05 U.S. Census Bureau (2012) QuickFacts. Retrieved online from: http://www.census.gov/ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2012) Healthy people 2020: Nutrition and weight status. Retrieved online from: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=29 Wiley, S