CARING FOR POPULATIONS 1
Caringfor Populations: Assessment and Diagnosis of Albemarle, NC
UniversityAffiliation
Contents
Caring for Populations: Assessment and Diagnosis of Albemarle, NC 3
Community Overview 3
Demographic Data 3
Epidemiological Data 4
Windshield Survey 5
Problem Diagnosis 6
Summary 6
References 8
Historical records show that hunter-gathering and mound-buildingNative Americans were the original inhabitants of Albemarle City. Thepurpose of this paper is to provide an assessment and diagnosis ofAlbemarle, NC. The paper will deploy community assessment techniquesto highlight a community health problem in Albemarle. It will alsoidentify the various components of the nursing problem with regardsto the particular dynamics of the community.
CommunityOverview
Albemarle is the largest municipality and county seat of StanlyCounty in the state of North Carolina. The city has a generally hillyterrain and covers an area of 15 square miles. The city of Albemarlewas incorporated in 1857. As a suburban city, Albemarle encompassesmany different races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic categories. Suchdiversity has led the city to have a vibrant atmosphere. I havealways lived a few miles outside of city limits in smaller towns thathave limited access to retail, food service and medical care.Albemarle has always been the closest city to shop, dine and obtainhealthcare. It has grown tremendously over the last 25 years byadding retail stores, restaurants and more medical offices includingspecialty care practices.
DemographicData
As of 2015, Albemarle has a general population of 16,197. 99% of thepopulation lives in urban areas while 1% lives in rural areas. Overthe last decade, the population in Albemarle has grown by 1.9%(United States Census Bureau). The male population in the city isabout 46.5% while the females comprise of 53.5%. It is important tonote that the median age in the city is 40 years. By comparison, theState of North Carolina has a median age of 37.9 years. In 2013, theestimated median income of Albemarle residents was $32,555 while thatof North Carolina State was $45,906. As of September 2015, Albemarlehad an unemployment rate of 5.1% while North Carolina’s rate was5.4% (United States Census Bureau).
Whites comprise 68.4% of the Albemarle population while blacksconstitute 21.9% of the population. On the other hand, 3.6% areHispanics while 3.2% are of Asian descent. The cost of living averagein Albemarle is 83.6 while the national average is 100. Theancestries in Albemarle include American (11.5%), German (14.7%),Irish (8.5%), English (10.9%), and Scottish (5.2%) (United StatesCensus Bureau). The city has a relatively low population density of1,018 people per square mile. Among the people over 25 years, 76.5%have completed high school or higher levels. 19.5% have attained aBachelor’s degree while 5.8% have graduate degrees (United StatesCensus Bureau).
EpidemiologicalData
The city of Albemarle has various epidemiological characteristics.For example, 14.4% of the population in the city has a form ofdisability while 12.4% in Stanly County have disabilities. 75% of thepopulation in Albemarle is covered by health insurance. Incomparison, the county average is 72% while the state average is73.4% (County Health Rankings, 2016). 16% of the people in the countyhave poor or fair health in comparison to the state average of 19%.The national average of people with poor health is 12%. Also, childmortality is 50 per 1000 children while the national average is 40per 1000 children. The city of Albemarle has a diet health of 48.7%while North Carolina State has a corresponding rate of 48.1%. Also,38.3% of people in the city are obese while the state average is38.4% (County Health Rankings, 2016).
In the city of Albemarle, 11.8% of the population has diabetes whilethe state average is 10.4%. Besides, 27.5% of the population has highblood pressure as compared to 23.3% in North Carolina State (CDC,2015). 4.4% of people in Albemarle have contemplated suicide duringtheir lifetime. People in the city of Albemarle take an averagenumber of 2.4 prescription medicines. 76.9% of the residents inAlbemarle consume alcohol while the state average is 79.4%. Theaverage duration of sleep both in the city and state is 6.8 hours.Also, 31.4% of residents have sleep disorders (County HealthRankings, 2016).
WindshieldSurvey
The vitality of Albemarle can be discerned through a survey of thebusier, east side of the town. The area has several retail and diningestablishments with few pedestrians. Caucasians are the most commonracial group. The age and socioeconomic dynamic ranges from lower tomiddle class in their 30’s to 40’s. The obese to morbidly obeseseem to outnumber normal to low weight citizens. Although the city ofAlbemarle lacks a bus system, there is a community transportationservice called "SCUSA," which provides transportation toand from agencies, employment sites, and businesses.
There are several billboards advertising our hospital since severalmedical offices were purchased by one of the largest healthcaresystems in the Southeast. The area has one non-profit hospital thatis located in the center of Albemarle. There are multiple primary andspecialty care medical practices in the community. Residents haveaccess to the health department for a low fee, as well as the"Community Care Clinic" for those with a chronic conditionthat qualifies for their program. This resource provides free medicaland free to extremely low-cost prescription drugs. Albemarle has fourarea nursing homes and an Inpatient Behavioral Health Unity withinour hospital. Also, the city has programs for citizens plagued withaddiction and mental health issues.
ProblemDiagnosis
Based on the assessment data, the city of Albemarle is plagued byobesity coupled with misuse of community resources for the indigent.Healthy People 2020 outlines several objectives with regards tonutrition and weight status. For example, a primary objective is toincrease the number of states with established nutrition standards.It is also important to increase the proportion of schools that offerbalanced diets to students. Also, State-level policies need toprovide incentives to retail outlets to sell foods with dietarybenefits. Primary care physicians also have to conduct regularmeasurements of body mass index (BMI) for their patients. Besides,counseling and education concerning weight and nutrition would beoffered. Eventually, it was hoped that such measures would reduceobesity by 10% (Healthy People 2020).
Obesity is a problem in Albemarle since it contributes to cases ofheart disease, hypertension, and mortality (Hammond & Levine,2010). Obesity has also intensified the cases of depression, stroke,high cholesterol, and diabetes. Genetic, behavioral, and dietaryfactors can be cited in determining the causes of diabetes (Lupino etal., 2010). Some of these factors have contributed to an increase ininstances of obesity in the city. For example, city residents consumehigh quantities of unhealthy foods in fast-food restaurants. Thegenerally hilly nature of the city has also discouraged physicalexercise as many citizens prefer to use vehicles. There is alsolittle education on proper dieting and exercise. In fact, many localschools have excluded nutrition as part of their curriculum.
Summary
The assessment and diagnosis has uncovered diabetes as a priorityhealth problem in the city of Albemarle. The epidemiological researchuncovered that 38.3% of the city’s population is classified asobese. Also, 11.8% of people have suffered diabetes. Such statisticshighlight the danger associated with obesity in Albemarle. Obesityhas emerged as a pertinent problem due to the poor nutrition andlifestyle choices of the residents. Healthy People 2020 includes anobjective to reduce the level of obesity in the country by over 10%.Attaining such a target would require the community to address theproliferation of unhealthy foods. Schools may also be required tochange their educational programs so as to focus more on weight andnutrition.
References
CDC. (2015). National center for health statistics. Retrievedfrom http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm
County Health Rankings. (2016). North Carolina. Retrieved fromhttp://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-carolina/2016/rankings/stanly/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot
Healthy People 2020. Nutrition and weight status. Retrievedfromhttps://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/nutrition-and-weight-status/objectives
Hammond, R., & Levine R. (2010). The economic impact of obesityin the United States. Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity :targets and therapy, 3, 285-295. doi:10.2147/DMSOTT.S7384.
Luppino, F. S., et al. (2010). Overweight, obesity, and depression: asystematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Archives of general psychiatry, 67(3), 220-229.
United States Census Bureau. ACS Demographic and housingestimates. Retrieved fromhttp://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk