Assess the health care needs of a selected community by completing an environmental analysis and a virtual windshield survey. Summarize the results of your assessment in a 3 page executive summary.
Introduction
Health care must be evidence-based, effective, efficient, and affordable; it must provide resources that meet the needs of the community. Nurse leaders must understand and thoroughly evaluate the environment to enable the efficient and equitable allocation of resources. A useful tool for this type of assessment is commonly called a windshield survey. Windshield surveys are what you might expect from the name. They are a way of gathering information about specific aspects of a community while driving around, such as the condition of roads, buildings, and housing.
This assessment provides an opportunity to examine the prevailing health conditions and social determinants of health in a community by completing an environmental analysis and a virtual windshield survey based on communities within the Vila Health system. Although Vila Health is a virtual lab, the communities represented in this simulation are real, enabling you to conduct an actual community health assessment.
Preparation
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To prepare for the assessment, you are encouraged to begin thinking about how an environmental analysis and windshield survey contribute to assessing community health care needs. In addition, you may wish to:
TEMPLATES
Requirements
The community health assessment requirements outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. The Guiding Questions: Assessing Community Health Care Needs document provides additional considerations that may be helpful in completing your assessment. In addition, be sure to note the requirements below for document format and length and for citing supporting evidence.
- Assess, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective.
- Analyze the environmental factors affecting population health in a community.
- Identify the social determinants of health in a community.
- Summarize windshield survey and environmental analysis findings for executive leaders.
- Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.
- Support findings and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.
Supporting Evidence
Cite 3–5 credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications to support your executive summary.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
- Competency 1: Identify the challenges and opportunities facing health care.
- Assess, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective.
- Analyze the environmental factors affecting population health in a community.
- Identify the social determinants of health in a community.
- Competency 4: Develop proactive strategies to change the culture of the organization by incorporating evidence-based practices.
- Summarize windshield survey and environmental analysis findings for executive leaders.
- Competency 5: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
- Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.
- Support assertions, arguments, propositions, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.