Windshield Survey Essay Paper
Identification of community priority problems is one of the primary roles of nurses. In an attempt to carry out the community assessment, nurses use windshield the primary tool for obtaining essential information relating to the community. A nursing plan is then formulated for the priority needs of the community. For the purpose of this Windshield Survey Essay Paper, Somerset, Bellevue will be assessed. The paper will describe the history, physical environment, economy, health and social services, politics, transportation, and education. The assessment shall be done on the demographics, values and beliefs, ethnicity, recreation and communication. Resident community perceptions will also be conducted after which a nursing diagnosis will be developed to help the community solve the problems that exist among them.
Community Core
History
Somerset is a neighborhood in Bellevue, WA. Somerset rests on a hill at about 1000 feet in elevation south of downtown Bellevue tucked between Lake Sammamish to the east and Lake Washington to the west (Roth, 2016) Windshield Survey Essay Paper. The views of Somerset overlooking Lake Washington and out across Seattle to the Puget Sound and also the Olympic mountains in the distance gives the area a beautiful view. There are established neighborhood in Somerset. Most of the neighborhoods in this area are unique, smaller neighborhoods including Foresthill, hilltop, forest park, horizon view and Tamara Hills (Burton, 2016). Somerset community looks newly established with green vegetation surrounding the homes and the water sources. From the research, I realized that Somerset was founded at around 1960s when construction of the first of its 22 divisions incorporating more than 1200 homes (Roth, 2016). At around 1970s, the last division was completed. An aged Somerset resident informed me that there is a community neighborhood association referred to as the Somerset community association (Burton, 2016). I learned that this association was created over 40 years ago to help preserve, promote and foster the betterment of the area. The interviewed informed me that the group is run by elected board of directors who manage the daily activities of the organization on a volunteer basis since it is a nonprofit organization. The rules and covenants of the organization apply to all homeowners regardless of their membership in membership to the association is voluntary based. The area has undergone various changes to accommodate the increasing population and also to keep the pace of the growing technological globe.
Demographics
Somerset is a very diverse community that is home to people of all ages and race. At a glance around the community, one would primarily see white men and women residents aged between 19 years and below with some appearing overweight and others obese (Burton, 2016). I also met a high number of mid-aged residents who are of Asian origin. Throughout my assessment, I came across many overweight and obese residents who were young and old, but from all the races. I also encountered several men who were smoking and young men who were drunk from their staggered movement. From the Windshield Survey Essay Paper assessment, I did not come across any shelters for the homeless indicating that most citizens have homes and no cases of homelessness. From the elderly residents that I came across, most of them were whites and a few blacks and Asians. The number of women that I met during the assessment was relatively higher than the number of men showing that the community has a higher number of females as compared to women. From the assessment realized that the community is family based since I met several couples walking together aged around 23 years and above as compared to the ones walking alone of the same age. I noted that the households in this community are homogenous and include dad, mom and children from an interview I conducted on of the residents. From the interview, I also learned that there are about 2500 homes in this community and about 74% are owned by married couples and families (Burton, 2016). Among the total number of the homes in Somerset, 50% of them represent families with children aged 18 years and below (Hesed& Paolisso, 2015).
Ethnicity
The Caucasian whites is the primary race in Somerset and represents 58.49% of the total population (Haider, 2016). Asians are the second largest population and the represent 34.30% of the total population (Haider, 2016). Black American population makes up around1 % of the total population (Haider, 2016). I noted that the restaurants are flocked by people from all races. Different Hispanic and Asian festivals are carried out. From the assessment, I did not come across any sign of cultural disparities.
Values and Beliefs
Christianity is the predominant religion of this community. During the windshield, I came across numerous churches, as compared to the number of mosques and temples. According to research, Christians occupy the largest percentage of believers followed by Buddhism practice and then Islamic religion. Hinduism occupy the last position after the pagans who do not claim being affiliated with any religion (Haider, 2016). Windshield Survey Essay Paper The lawns are always beautifully trimmed and have smart landscaping. There are flowers of different kinds in front of homes and the flower gardens. Somerset community seems to have high value to culture, art and heritage since the county has several organizations like Somerset fine and performing art organizations, history and preservation organizations. The county further gives out awards in art, historic preservation, and history awards.
Community Subsystems
Physical Environment
Somerset is a neighborhood with a beautiful view with most the residents claiming that Somerset was what the Bellevue (a term meaning beautiful view in French) founders must have had in mind when the named the city Windshield Survey Essay Paper. The neighborhood is located on the hill called Somerset, which has an attitude of around 800 feet above sea level, and has a dense forest (Cloke & Jones, 2011) .The hill, offers the residents of Somerset a favorite spot, where they can gaze out across Lake Washington and Puget Sound to Seattle and the Olympic mountains. The quality of air is good given that the rate of pollution is low in the neighborhood. Just like most of the Puget Sound lowland, Somerset has a warm oceanic climate. Given that the community is located near Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish, there are a lot of fish and birds here. However, most of the water in the area is sourced from the Kelsey Creek, which avails clean water to the residents.
Health and Social Services
Somerset has numerous healthcare resources, especially privately owned, and funded health centers available for the residents. The various types of healthcare resources available include privately owned clinics, specialty clinics of all systems of the body, physicians’ offices, free clinics, emergency care centers, dentist offices, nursing homes, psychiatry clinics, dentist offices, and home health. Additionally, there are numerous options for mental care. However, most of these mental care resources are privately owned. The community of Somerset has a local Community service Board, outpatient Psychiatric healthcare centers, residential treatment health facilities, and therapy centers. Most of the chronic issues within the community are obesity related followed by sport related injuries that result from the high activity of the residents. Windshield Survey Essay Paper.
Economy
Somerset has a successful, thriving economy with most of the residents being high-income earners. As a neighborhood of Bellevue, which is near Redmond, the home of Nintendo and Microsoft, Somerset is resided by small and large business owners Windshield Survey Essay Paper. Apparently, around 97 percent of the Somerset residents have jobs leading to the high living standards (Peterson et al., 2017). However, the cost of living in the neighborhood is 56% compared to that of Bellevue and 80% higher than the national average (Peterson et al., 2017). Within the community, there are various types of businesses that supply home and other necessary products to the residents including shopping malls. However, the prices of fresh vegetables, fruits, and other farm food products are often very high, and thus low-income earners living in Somerset may not afford them. In addition, there are many liquor stores, clubs, and bars within the neighborhood.
Transport and Safety
Somerset, Bellevue residents, often depends on the road as the major means of transport. With the high living standards, most of the people in the neighborhood own cars. Given that most of the schools have buses, most students use them to get to school. However, some of them use cars to get to school. The neighborhood is very safe considering that the overall rate of crime in the area is 55% lower compared to the national crime rate (Peterson et al., 2017). Windshield Survey Essay Paper Compared to other Washington cities, Somerset is 92 % safer with 3.55 daily crimes for every 100000 individuals (Peterson et al., 2017). The neighborhood has a fire station, public sanitation, and police stations. The water, as well as air quality, is excellent. Additionally, with the high living standards in the area, most of the residents have excellent security systems.
Government and Politics
In regards to government and politics, Somerset falls under Bellevue, which is governed by a council-manager government form comprising of seven, non-partisan members board members that are elected during the national elections. The council members select the city’s mayor who acts as a council chair. The major role of the mayor is to administrate the meetings of the council, assist set the issues during the meeting of the council, as well as acts as the major spokesperson for the city.
Communication
In Somerset, Bellevue, night clubs, restaurants, hotels and fast food stores are among the most common places where people hang out. Essentially, older people especially men, often hang out in clubs and hotels during their leisure time. Young people also hang out in nightclubs on weekends. The major source of print media is the Bellevue media, which is the local newspaper. However, there are other sources of print media including The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Computers and televisions are found in all homes while radios are found in all cars. The most popular radio stations include KEXP FM, KMIH-FM, and Sandusky Radio. Social media use is also prevalent in the area, especially among youngsters. Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms used by the residents, and they are popular means of communication. Facetime and text messaging are the most common communication means used by the residents Windshield Survey Essay Paper.
Education
In Somerset, education is held to high standards. The neighborhood has two public schools including the Somerset Elementary School and the Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. There are also other numerous private educational centers. The majority of children in the region attend two years of preschool prior to joining the public educational centers. All the schools have a nurse that pupils and students visit in case of any medical issue that may arise during the school hours. Also, all schools have excellent learning resources including sufficient educators and well-equipped libraries and laboratories. Besides offering good education standards, these schools also offer extra-curricular activities such as sports activities. Most of the schools have buses that transport student from home to school. However, most of the students, especially the older students have cars. Schools often offer the students with a balanced diet though most of the students prefer carrying junk food to school.
Recreation
With most of the residents being high-income earners, the community of Somerset is leisure driven. The neighborhood has several community recreational centers that offer sports to young people with the most common sports being tennis, swimming, and basketball. These recreational programs also involve older people including parents though annual auctions that help raise funds to develop recreational facilities and other social issues. Private gyms, as well as CrossFit, are also very popular among the Somerset residents. Also, the Forest Hill Neighborhood Park, which offers a spacious playground for children, picnic facilities, and walking trails, offers a place where families can spend their leisure time. The weather is often favorable for most seasons of the year, thus allowing outdoor activities such as sports to take place.
Community Perceptions
The Residents of Somerset are very confident about their community. They feel the area is quiet and have beautiful scenes with the views of Lake Washington, downtown Bellevue and downtown Seattle. The residents feel that the neighborhood association is among their greatest strengths for their interests are catered for by the specially elected members. From this organization, residents of over 65 years of age can be catered for and their interests. The young people feel that more physical finesses centers should be put in place to help the residents maintain normal body sizes and body mass indices. People from different groups (e.g., old, young, field worker, factory worker, professional, minister, housewife).
Personal perception
The status of health in this community is good since there are good physical environment which determine the nutrition of the community residents. There are also numerous health care service centers which show that health matters is the priority in this community. From the assessment I found out that the community has the following strengths Favorable physical environment including water resources, forests, favorable climate, Numerous healthcare resources including privately owned clinics, specialty clinics of all systems of the body, physicians’ offices, emergency care centers, dentist offices, nursing homes, psychiatry clinics, dentist offices, and home health services, Successful, thriving economy with most of the residents being high-income earners. The community has also the following strengths Efficient and accessible transport means, High security levels within the community with the crime rates being lower than the national and Washington state rates, Good governance, Good educational facilities with sufficient learning, extra-curricular, transport, and medical facilities and Numerous recreational facilities including parks, recreational programs, sport clubs and Favorable weather conditions that allowing outdoor leisure activities Windshield Survey Essay Paper.
The community however faces various challenges including high rate of obese citizens, High cost of living leading to high health costs, Insufficient mental health facilities particularly the Lack of an inpatient psychiatric hospital, With the high cost of living in the community, fresh farm food products are often very expensive, Lack of an inpatient public hospital, Even though schools often offer the students with a balanced diet though most of the students prefer carrying junk food to school, Alcoholism is also a problem considering that the area has many liquor stores, nightclubs, and bars, where the residents mostly hangout and Lack of a geriatric healthcare center to offer services to the older population.
Conclusion
Somerset is a neighborhood of Bellevue and an active community economic-wise. Poverty, crime rate and illiteracy levels are low Windshield Survey Essay Paper. The community has good education, physical environment, recreational facilities, good governance and a peaceful atmosphere. From these qualities and many others, Somerset remains a great place to work and raise a family in.
Population Nursing Diagnosis
The windshield assessment noted two main issues requiring nursing interventions. First, the windshield noted that the area has numerous liquor stores, bars and night clubs which are frequented by the youths. Secondly, the wield shield noted that most people walking on the streets are obese as well as numerous fast food joint which is frequented by people from all walks of life. The population diagnosis culminating from this challenges, nursing objectives, and their rationale is outlined in this section.
Nursing diagnosis 1: Altered nutrition related to reliance on the fast food as evidenced by high rates of overweight and obese people within the community.
Objectives:
- Conduct a series of health education and health promotion campaigns
- Identify overweight and obese residents
- develop programs for weight reduction
- Windshield Survey Essay Paper
Rationale:
- The rationale for health education and promotion is to enlighten the residents on the risk pertaining to consumption of unhealthy food and failure to exercise (Johns et al., 2014)
- Identification of the overweight and obese resident helps in identifying the cause of excessive weight gains, link them to weight reduction program and monitor them regularly for risk conditions such as hypertension and diabetes (Johns et al., 2014).
- The programs for weight reduction include teaching on physical exercise and healthy food in a quest of changing the nutrition health behaviors (Johns et al., 2014). Other programs seek to coordinate the weight reduction intervention namely diet and physical exercise.
Nursing diagnosis 2: Risk of a poor quality of life among the youth related to excessive consumption of alcohol.
Objectives:
- Conduct a series of health education and health promotion campaigns
- Windshield Survey Essay Paper
- Identify victims of alcohol abuse and link them to the local rehabilitation center
Rationale:
- The rationale for health education to enlighten the youths to adopt the healthy behaviors and economic activities to enable them to quit idleness and substance abuse (Roche et al., 2015).
- Health promotion on the other hand will involve lobbying for implementation of policies geared towards cessation of drug abuse including enhancing socioeconomic status, controlling availability, regulating advertisement, and enforcing healthy drinking guidelines (Roche et al., 2015) Windshield Survey Essay Paper.
- Rehabilitation aims at assisting the youths who are addicted to drugs to quit the trend and treat the consequences of drug addictions as well as withdrawal syndrome.
References
Burton, D. R. (2016). Equipping Adults at Beacon Hill Baptist Church of Somerset, Kentucky for Gospel Ministry to Children. http://digital.library.sbts.edu:8080/bitstream/handle/10392/5029/Burton_sbts.pdp_0207A_10222.pdf?sequence=1
Cloke, P., & Jones, O. (2011). Dwelling, place, and landscape: an orchard in Somerset. Environment and Planning A, 33(4), 649-666. Windshield Survey Essay Paper.
Haider, N. (2016). Community on the Corner (Doctoral dissertation, Carleton University Ottawa). Retrieved from https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/b1e14a6f-f0ea-45bc-86c2-9af3fe20c4f6/etd_pdf/2108c4f2b931fb89762ca50ec369e518/haider-communityonthecorneranexaminationofthesomerset.pdf
Hesed, C. D. M., & Paolisso, M. (2015). Cultural knowledge and local vulnerability in African American communities. Nature Climate Change, 5(7), 683-687.
Holmes, B. W. (2014). Investigating the Eastern Extent of the Seattle Fault Zone through Depth to Bedrock and Borehole Analysis in Bellevue, Washington. Retrieved from https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/36245/Holmes_MESSAGeReport013.pdf?sequence=1
Johns, D. J., Hartmann-Boyce, J., Jebb, S. A., Aveyard, P., & Group, B. W. M. R. (2014). Diet or exercise interventions vs combined behavioral weight management programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis of direct comparisons. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 114(10), 1557-1568. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267214010557
Peterson, C. E., Weden, M. M., & Shih, R. A. (2017). Demographic, Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1700/RR1741/RAND_RR1741.pdf
Roche, A., Kostadinov, V., Fischer, J., Nicholas, R., O’Rourke, K., Pidd, K., & Trifonoff, A. (2015). Addressing inequities in alcohol consumption and related harms. Health promotion international, 30(suppl_2), ii20-ii35. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/30/suppl_2/ii20/642139/Addressing-inequities-in-alcohol-consumption-and
Windshield Survey Essay Paper Roth, D. (2016). A Review of the Residential Parking Management Program in Bellevue, WA (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/36857