Chisago Community Assessment & Health Community Plan

Introduction

The paper evaluates the population of Chisago County. While various healthcare diagnoses informed by statistics are established, key determinants are incorporated in the appraisal of the population and community health status from a public health practitioner perspective.

Social environment

Chisago County has a wide range of social schemes. To ensure the prioritization of social contributing factors of health, the local government in partnership with other stakeholders has advanced the need for the welfare of all, by advocating for not just active living but also healthy diet, and psychological wellness for all residents through a policy framework that puts more emphasis on ecological change (Go et al. 2013). In this regard, the Chisago County has several program that offers free food and free meals. Moreover, expectant women and new mothers are taught about the value of nutrition and balanced diet.
Chisago has thousands of firms that offer employment to locals is a broad range of fields such as; food industry, technology, healthcare and marine, R&D, retail, and real estate, tourism, and manufacturing among others. Chisago has some parks and recreational centers that create not just a high sense of culture, but also health and welfare for its population. Triathlon, swimming and golfing are popular sports across the county. Others include; walking, running, basketball, tennis, dancing and cycling. Chisago is a haven for tourists because of activities such as boating fishing, kayaking Lake Triathlon among others.

Nursing diagnoses:

The analysis of the county’s health status indicates that the increased risk of heart disease is associated with lack of information when it comes to exercise as the surest route to weight management. Physical inactivity is for Chisago is at 22% lower than the national average which is at 20%. Again, the community needs to be sensitized on the type of food and preparation due to the high percentage of heart disease that stands at 138.99 higher than that state, which standards at 116.99. The highest rate of heart disease in Chisago is a function of poor or unhealthy eating habits.

Health Rates

The county’s birth rates were at 10.5 per 1, 000 in 2010. At this time, more than 83.8% of children in the county had prenatal care in comparison to previous years that had a low prenatal rate. The adolescent birth rate plummeted 19% from 2007 through to 2007 with 22.5 births for every 1000 women between the ages of 15-19 in 2010 (Kochanek et al. 2011). This was in comparison with 34 births for every 1000 women nationally. However, the rate of birth of Hispanic adolescents is three times higher than whites at the state level. This is also higher among African Americans than is the case for whites.

Morbidity

The health status of the community is determined by whether or not they engage in health risk factors such as alcohol, tobacco, diet, physical exercise and preventive health practices. Management of the risk factors has a huge bearing on individual’s risk of illness, disease and premature death. The leading cause of death in Chisago County stems from heart disease at 24% and binge drinking at 20%

Strengths/Assets of the community

Some of the most valuable assets for Chisago County are lakes and parks that provide places for recreational activities. Regardless, of these assets, the residents of Chisago do not take part in physical activities. In that respect, this population requires education regarding various diseases, particularly the risks associated with heart disease. One may think that these parks and lakes are used by outsiders who have led to increased costs of accessing them, thus hinder the residents of Chisago (Kochanek et al. 2011). Additionally, the county works in collaborations with Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) on economic growth, to promote a culture of lifestyle change, healthy eating, and well-being of the residents. Furthermore, among women and infants children (WIC) the focus is on nutritional awareness. Therefore, there needs to be a partnership with local health institutions and WIC.

Priority

There are high rates of heart disease among adult populations due to poor eating habits, lack of physical exercises. Adult heart disease in Chisago County is higher compared to statewide rates, at 29 and 26% respectively. Moreover, about 70% of residents reported that heart disease was a serious issue and 80% considered poor eating habits as a serious challenge (Heidenreich et al. 2011).

Target population

The target population is obese and overweight people and other individuals that will benefit from this plan that aims at reducing heart disease. In the assessment, data demonstrated that approximately, 29% of adult population is obese. This is attributed to poor eating habits and inactivity.

Part 2: Community Health Plan

Goal

The goal of this community plan is reducing heart disease in Chisago County. According to Health people 2020, heart disease is one of the leading causes of death across the US. In addition, heart disease is not only expensive but also manageable. In Chisago County heart disease is a serious issue that kills about 138.99 people higher than state average, which is at 116 people.

The objectives of this community plan are;
Minimize the rates of heart disease
Increased participation in statewide health programs and activities such as lifestyle change, eating habits and participating in physical exercises
Enhance collaboration with local health providers

Interventions

To improve the health of Chisago County residents, the intervention wheel must be integrated, and execution of these interventions should be carried out in a way that involves families, the larger community, and structures that influence the health of the population. Some of these interventions are;

Surveillance, Disease & Health Event Investigation, Outreach, and Screening:

The important thing is to identify people at risk of heart disease in Chisago County from electronic health databases from health institutions. After which, it is of great importance to assess if the target population know how to manage heart disease. This is because assessment presents the basis for creating awareness and scheduling care.
The target population should understand the risks associated with heart disease; therefore, they need to take a leading role to control and manage it. For instance, regular monitoring of blood pressure would be appropriate community outreach at community centers. When it comes to contacting the target population, different modes can be used including flyers, Facebook or TV. The strategies will effectively inform the people of Chisago County about upcoming community health initiatives.
For that reason, it is necessary to understand the available resources while increasing adherence and ensure that outreach is attained. Regular monitoring will be performed in medical fairs at different workplaces to help in identifying workers at risk of developing heart disease (Kochanek et al. 2011). To motivate workers to take part in these medical fairs, health practitioners, and human resource personnel can explain to employees the importance of such regular checks and potential risks.

Available Resources

Use of available resources in the community is crucial contributing to a healthy autonomous community. Collaboration and support are essential regarding improving the health of the population. County together with existing programs of federal Healthy People 2020 and Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) collaborate in economic growth, which promotes a culture of lifestyle change, healthy eating and well-being of the residents through policy-structure-environmental change. Understanding current programs of the region’s health care in nutrition as well as weight loss programs. To minimize cases of heart disease, awareness, access to nutritional foods and physical exercises are necessary. Individuals at risk of developing heart disease and those who are obese can play a major role in achieving the objectives. Their involvement in planning is a suitable approach to monitoring while ensuring that the interventions are effective.

Healthy People 2020

According to the Healthy People, 2020 heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the US. Since heart disease can be managed through lifestyle change, physical exercises, and dietary habits. Moreover, Health People 2020 demonstrates that understanding the current initiatives was vital in realizing active nutrition and weight loss (Go et al. 2013). The objective of this plan highlights on these aspects. Healthy People 2020 also indicated that awareness, access to nutritional foods and physical exercises are necessary. This is in line with Chisago County community health plan which promotes collaboration in economic development, the culture of regular health, supporting active living and healthy eating, and well-being for all residents through policy-system-environment change (Heidenreich et al. 2011). To certain, degree this is related to interventions of this community health plan.

References

Go AS, Mozaffarian D, Roger VL, Benjamin EJ, Berry JD, et al. 2013 Heart disease and stroke statistics—update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation 2013; 127:e6–e245.
Kochanek KD, Xu JQ, Murphy SL, Miniño AM, Kung HC 2011. Deaths: final data for 2009 [PDF-3M]. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 60(3).
Heidenreich PA, Trogdon JG, Khavjou OA, Butler J, Dracup K, Ezekowitz MD, et al. 2011 Forecasting the future of cardiovascular disease in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2011; 123(8):933–44.

By admin in Essays on June 14, 2016