Community Assessment Worksheet, Rural Health Group

Community Assessment Worksheet, Rural Health Group

For the data and discussion we are using Community Commons, which combines data from the CDC, American Community Survey, census data and more.

Website: http://www.communitycommons.org/

DEOMGRAPHICS

1) What do population trends reveal (State, Local and National)? 

2) Has there been a change in population in people over 65 or under 5? (GO TO Change in population). Are some age groups in your county older/younger than the nation/state? 

3) How could growth or decline in growth in various age groups affect public health planning?

4) Why do you think it is important to understand the population and race distribution? Discuss the race demographic trends (growth or decline) in your county/state/nation. 

5) How do changes in demographics affect public health programs/programming?

6)  Why does the site list race under Hispanic and Non-Hispanic and how do race and ethnicity, and origin differ? (See Notes at the bottom, and the Hispanic Population tab)

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS: Links within the section are in italics at the end of most questions, abbreviations to note for this section: FPL- Federal Poverty Level, SNAP- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). 

1) What percentage of children are eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch in your county/state/nation? Why is this an important indicator? (Children Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch)

2) What percent of children are living poverty in the county/state/nation? Do all races and ethnicities have similar percentages? (Children in Poverty)

3) How is poverty linked to health? 

4) What are the High school graduation rates for your county/state/nation? And what is the Healthy People 2020 goal? Why is this relevant for health outcomes? (High School Graduation Rate, NCES)

5) How is lack of social or emotional support relevant as a health indicator and what it is linked to? And how did your county and state compare to the nation? (Lack of social or emotional support)

6) What are the rates of households receiving public assistance income in your county/state/nation? And why is this relevant to health outcomes? (Households Receiving Public Assistance Income)

7) What is the Income Per Capita of your county/state/nation? What does income per capita include? How does this compare with the average new nurse salary in the area?

(Income per Capita) Income per Capita is all income and wages a person receives in a year

8) What is the percent of the population living in poverty in the county, state, and nation? And why is this relevant to health status? (Population in Poverty 100% FPL)

9) What is the percentage of households receiving SNAP benefits? Why is this relevant to health? (Population Receiving SNAP Benefits, ACS)

10) What percent of your county/state/nation do not have a high school diploma? How is this relevant to health status? Describe who and how Community Commons measures this. (Population with No High School Diploma

· For questions 11-13 please click on the (Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007) link under Population with No High School Diploma. 

11) Why do these researchers refer to education as the elixir for public health? 

12) (From Table 3) Name 2 reasons students drop out from each column:

· Individual or family reasons 

· Neighborhood or community causes, School or School System causes

13) Name 3 school-based health interventions that have evidence to support a reduction in school drop-out rates?

HEALTH BEHAVIORS

1. How does Kentucky compare to the USA regarding alcohol consumption? Why do you think the CDC asks about alcohol consumption? (Alcohol Consumption)

2. How does Kentucky compare to the USA regarding Fruit and Vegetable consumption? What was the measurement and why is this important to health? (Fruit/Vegetable Consumption)

3. How does your county and Kentucky compare to the USA regarding physical inactivity? What are implications might this have on the health care system? (Physical Inactivity)

4. How does your county and Kentucky compare to the USA regarding tobacco use? Percent smoking, percent smoked over 100 cigarettes, quit attempts in the past 12 months. (Tobacco Usage: Current, Former and Quit attempts). 

HEALTH OUTCOMES: Look up the following health issues (below) discuss the incidence rate or percent comparison between the nation, state, and county. Do they differ a lot by race/ethnicity? In addition, address the specific question by each disease/health outcome and be thinking about what public health nurses could do to address these, for discussion you do not need to record here.

Asthma Prevalence: Name 2 issues that could exacerbate asthma.

Cancer Incidence- Lung: Name 2 issues that increase the incidence of lung cancer.

Cancer Incidence- Colon: Why are cancer rates addressed by the type of cancer? What is one lifestyle change you can do to reduce your risk of colon cancer?

Chlamydia: Why is this a concern for public health if it is treatable/curable? 

Heart Disease(adult): What other indicators is this related to?

Diabetes(adult): What lifestyle/behavior factors increase rates in Kentucky?

Infant Mortality: Who is included in this rate? Why is this a good indicator of health of the community? Death before the age of 1 year

Poor Dental Health: How is this defined and why do you think the state has such high rates? 18+years with 6 or more perm. Teeth removed or lost from poor dental health