Aggregate Community Windshield Survey Draft

Sample Answer

Community health assessment is a crucial aspect of the nursing profession as it elaborates the healthcare needs of a given aggregate, hence promoting the overall health of the entire community. Different methods are normally utilized in assessing the health status of a given community including the demographic and epidemiological methods.

Once the healthcare needs of the community are known, appropriate strategies are then put in place to promote the provision of healthcare services to the identified aggregate. This paper identifies 3 females middle-aged between 35-44 years of age of the Fort Pierce Florida community as the aggregate for the health promotion project.

Studies show that middle-aged women are at increased risk of experiencing several debilitating ongoing symptoms especially after vaccination and treatment for Covid-19 such as fatigue, muscle pain, breathlessness, depression, and anxiety (Sen-Crowe et al., 2021). The healthcare needs for this group of women have been assessed through the conducted windshield survey. The entire project will be based on the assessment outcome of the aggregate group.

My Aggregate Description

The aggregate group identified for this project are 3 females middle-aged between 35-44 years of age from Fort Pierce Florida. This community is located in St. Lucie County, Florida. It has a population of approximately 46,103 as recorded by the U.S. Census bureau in 2019.

The city sits on a total area of 53.8 km2 of which 15.6 km2 is covered by water while the rest is land (Sen-Crowe et al., 2021). At Fort Pierce Florida, the population is spread out as children under the age of 18 years account for approximately 25.9% of the entire population, whereas the elderly above the age of 65 years account for approximately 6.8%.

Women are more than men in this community, at a ratio of 96 men to 100 women. The majority of the community members are whites, closely followed by African Americans, as other racial groups such as the Latino, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans account for a small percentage of the community.

Approximately 40% of middle-aged women from this community are experiencing some form of depression or anxiety as a result of the thought of death as a result of Covid-19, based on the increased death rate during the pandemic (Harris, 2020).

Brief History

Fort Pierce is also known as the Sunrise City, and for over 100 years, it has been considered the hub of St. Lucie County in Florida. It is one of the oldest communities located on the east coast of Florida. The poverty rate in this city as of 2019 is 29.4%, with a median household income of $35,198.

Fort Pierce’s life expectancy 3-year average was 79.7, with the leading cause of death being heart disease, followed by cancer. As per the identified aggregate, middle-aged women in Fort Piece Florida, and across the U.S have continued gaining substantial improvements in their health seen by the decreasing mortality rates due to breast cancer, lung cancer, and heart disease.

However, according to the ‘Status of Women in Florida by County Health & Well-Being,’ there has been an increasing prevalence of diabetes and suicide incidence among middle-aged women in Florida, which indicates a decline in mental health (Thibaut et al., 2020). This has even worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reasons for Selection of this Aggregate

The main reason behind the selection of this aggregate group for my capstone project is the increased rate of diabetes and mental health problems among middle-aged women in Fort Pierce Florida before the pandemic. Between the years 2000 and 2015, it was reported that the suicide rates and poor mental health among middle-aged women in Fort Piece Florida had increased (Cardel et al., 2020).

These numbers have gone higher ever since the first 9 months into the pandemic. Women are now scared to go for scheduled cancer screening among other routine procedures as a result of the increased spread of the virus. The mortality rate among this age group has also risen over the past 2 years as a result of the Corvid-19 pandemic.

This has contributed to the increasing rate of anxiety and depression among women between the age of 35 to 44 years. Appropriate strategies must thus be implemented in Fort Piece Florida to promote the mental health of this vulnerable group.

Windshield Survey Community Assessment

Nature of the Aggregate Community

The levels of anxiety and depression among middle-aged women in Fort Pierce Florida have gone up over the past few years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The community has always focused on this vulnerable group, especially with their physical health.

However, less attention has been put forward towards promoting their mental health (Thibaut et al., 2020). This has led to an increased rate of depression and anxiety in addition to suicide attempts during the pandemic.

Nature of a Healthy Community

A healthy community should take keen consideration on promoting the mental health of middle-aged women, while still containing the virus. For instance, the women must be educated on the measures that are crucial to help prevent the spread of the virus especially when they report for routine cancer screening (Harris, 2020).

The healthcare system must also provide a substantial mental health support system to promote counseling and routine psychiatric examination to promote the mental health of middle-aged women during these hard times.

Data Sources
The data collection processes utilized include interviews and observation. The community members serve as the primary source of data concerning the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of middle-aged women in this region (Sen-Crowe et al., 2021). Additional data concerning the living and healthcare environment was collected through observation.

Key observations

The average age of community members in Fort Pierce Florida is 42 years as of 2019. The majority of the population are whites, closely followed by African Americans, with other racial groups such as Asians accounting for a small part of the community. The housing in this area is affordable and conducive for women, with the cost of single-family houses and condos dropping during the pandemic.

The city being part of the east coast has several recreational areas with parks located closer to the households. Most of the community members are religious, with churches and mosques among other places of worship built in most corners of the streets (Kantor, 2020). The neighborhood is quite safe and clean, with a low crime rate. Most of the roads are well maintained with easily accessible forms of transport. The majority of the community members are employed with several business centers, promoting the economy of the place.

Assessment of the Needs

The current health needs for this aggregate group include an increase in mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts during the covid-19 pandemic. The spread of the virus has also led to increased comorbidities and increased death rates among middle-aged women between the age of 35 and 44 years (Thibaut et al., 2020).

Consequently, most middle-aged women in this area reported increased incidences of not seeing a doctor or healthcare professional as a result of increased healthcare costs due to shortages of clinicians during the pandemic (Kantor, 2020).

Conclusion and Recommendations

The mental health of the middle-aged women in Fort Pierce Florida, just like other women across the world has been negatively affected during the covid-19 pandemic. As such, several programs must be established to help promote routine examination of the mental status of middle-aged women essential for their overall health and wellbeing.

References

• Cardel, M. I., Manasse, S., Krukowski, R. A., Ross, K., Shakour, R., Miller, D. R., … & Hong, Y. R. (2020). COVID‐19 impacts mental Health outcomes and ability/desire to participate in research among current research participants. Obesity, 28(12), 2272-2281. https //doi.org/10.1002/oby.23016
  
• Harris, J. E. (2020). COVID-19 case mortality rates continue to decline in Florida. medRxiv. https //doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.03.20167338
  Kantor, B. N., & Kantor, J. (2020). Mental health outcomes and associations during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic a cross-sectional survey of the US general population. MedRxiv. https //doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2021.01.076
  
• Sen-Crowe, B., Sutherland, M., McKenney, M., & Elkbuli, A. (2021). The Florida COVID-19 mystery lessons to be learned. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. DOI 10.1016/j.ajem.2020.08.009
  
• Thibaut, F., & van Wijngaarden-Cremers, P. (2020). Women’s mental health in the time of Covid-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, 1, 17. DOI 10.3389/fgwh.2020.588372