Community Health

A community health assessment (CHA) is the foundation for improving a community’s health. The ability of individuals to cope with various illnesses, as well as the physical and social environments, is an important aspect of human life (Baggot, 2015). The Equity Health Community Center CHA board will hold a CHA for children under the age of four and their families in Los Angeles, California. According to Whitehead (2021), census data show that the majority of children under the age of four and their families live in a defined geographical area of West California with poor child health indicators (Barr & Hashegen, 2019). Most health needs are not met for both male and female children. (CDC, 2018)

Stakeholder Identification and Engagement

Stakeholders are identified in a variety of ways. The process of engaging stakeholders should be designed in such a way that it is clear to all participants and that they are fully involved in the entire CHA process (Israel et al., 2018). Individuals or institutions from hospitals or communities, including local Equity employees in health, public education, and social care, will be among the stakeholders. Furthermore, the CHA will include children under the age of four, parents in the local area, health caregivers, and other representatives from local non-statutory services.

The CHA developers are excited to map community assets in preparation for the assessment. Community assets are things that can be used to improve the community’s health. Individual community members, including recipients of local Equity Health Services, as well as physical structures such as hospitals, schools, social clubs, and recreation centers, will be considered assets. Furthermore, community health assessment assets include local businesses, local groups, government, and non-profit organizations. These assets shall be used as the foundation for community development and health promotion. The main goal will be to start with the community’s strengths and work towards a unanimous agreement.

The health assessment requires resources to be completed successfully. In this regard, the Community Development employee and Public Health Nurse will be given sufficient time to carry out the program. The CHA committee will make a request for early financing to undertake the whole assessment. Every health needs assessment necessitates financial resources to fund organized activities such as field data collection and to support the implementation of the action plan developed ( Kim et al, 2015). Human resources include the Equity Health Center staff, target population, and Equity Center’s board of Directors. The CHA must consider each human resource’s level of experience, individual talents, skills, and training. Physical resources, political resources, informational resources, and currently underway interventions will all be evaluated. Market centers with adequate space for public meetings, business centers, local schools, and large conference halls are examples of physical properties. The CHA committee must select a geographical location that is easily accessible for the project’s execution. Political resources in California will advocate for policy through constituents of public and private organizations. Elected officials are important resources for advocating for health promotion in their areas of jurisdiction. Informational resources and communication channels are essential components of community health assessment (Wilson et al., 2015). Some significant information sources will include a review of published books on the local community’s health, newspapers, internet data about the local area of California, library Catalogs, encyclopedias, and historical magazines. The CHA anticipates using both informal and formal modes of communication. For physically challenged members of the community, informal networks of information exchange will be used, including verbal discussions and the use of gestures.

The CHA team will form an external assessment committee to provide guidance throughout the CHA process. Members of the community must be represented on the external assessment committee, which will be made up of multi-sectorial community stakeholders.

Establishing the Geographical Community

Los Angeles, California, will be the geographical focus. The hospital at California West will serve as the starting point for describing the community. The assessment committee intends to collaborate with various sectors to address factors influencing children’s health, such as housing, clothing, access to nutritious food, parents’ employment status, education, and healthcare provision. The goal of the CHA will be to improve collaboration among community members, children, and parents in order to promote the physical, social, and intellectual development of young children (Kok et al., 2021). The CHA will be led by the Equity community health project’s skilled community health worker and the Equity health community center’s CHA public health nurse in the western region. Private hospitals in California West will also be enlisted to assist with the assessment of health needs.

Data collection and analysis

Data collection is an essential component of any assessment of community health needs (Acheson et al., 2018). The assessment team intends to collect data from census records on children under the age of four and their families in California’s western region. They will also examine the level of employment in families as well as the number of children in the child protection information system. Both qualitative and quantitative data Structured and unstructured interviews with parents will be conducted, as will the use of questionnaires based on the participants’ literacy levels and meetings with professionals from key institutions dealing with children. The team will also form two focus groups that will organize holiday parties and weekly fun activities to engage children under the age of four for first-hand information. Other secondary data sources will include California West Hospital records, which will include information on mothers with low birth weights, emergency hospital admissions, and the previous CHA’s index of multiple deprivation scores.

Results Documentation and Communication

Documentation is an important step in assessing community health (Burns & Taylor, 2020). It serves as a future reference point and planning strategy for dealing with community health needs, allowing the community to see the end result of their involvement. The CHA board will write and distribute a public report to the Equity Health Community Center’s external and internal audiences. The following report components will be included:

Description of the population

Participants in the data collection process

The organizations involved

Prioritized health needs and their description

Strategy for meeting needs with the resources at hand

Strategy implementation evaluation

The CHA results will be published and shared on the websites of Equity Health Community Center, West California Hospital, and other partnering institutions. Equity’s social media accounts and emails will also be used to communicate the assessment report. Furthermore, the CHA team intends to disseminate the published CHA data through print media, newsletters, and broadcast media. Following the publication of the report, the hospital and community will be engaged around the findings of the community health assessment through presentations to hospital staff, key stakeholders, and community organizations. Meetings with members of the community and discussions about the CHA results with hospital employees are two of the ways the CHA committee plans to engage.

Strategy Development for Implementation

Creating a strategic plan to address community health needs is critical to promoting health standards (Kwan et al., 2018). The CHA committee intends to use both practical and interceptive approaches to address the identified needs at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The team intends to involve both external and internal Equity partners in the active and robust implementation of the established strategies (Kim et al., 2015). The hospitals will choose strategies that have an impact on their population’s clinical health outcomes, such as improving access to care and managing life-threatening diseases in children under the age of four.

References

Acheson, D. et al. (2018). Independent inquiry into inequalities in health. London: Stationery Office.

Baggott, R. (2015). Health and healthcare in Britain. London: Macmillan.

Barr, A. & Hashegen, S. (2019). ABCD handbook: a framework for evaluating community

Burns, D. & Taylor, M. (2020). Auditing community participation: an assessment handbook. Bristol: The Policy Press for Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

CDC (2018) SCDG Sustainable community development.health assessment of needs

Cho, S., Lee, H., Yoon, S., Kim, Y., Levin, P. F., & Kim, E. (2018). Community health needs assessment: a nurses’ global health project in Vietnam. International nursing review, 65(4), 505–514. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12443

Dahlgren, G. & Whitehead, M. (2021). Policies and strategies to promote social equity in health. Stockholm: Stockholm Institute of Future Studies.Development. London: CDF Publications (60 High bury Grove, London N5 2AG).

DH (2021) The Older People’s National Service Framework, Standard 8: The promotion of health and active life in older age. London: Department of Health. DH (2019) Saving lives our healthier nation. London: Stationery Office.DH (2001) Shifting the balance of power within the NHS: securing delivery. London: Stationery Office.

DH (2014) Choosing Health: Making healthy choices easier. London: Department of Health. Guidelines. Bedford: Bedfordshire Health Promotion Agency.

Israel, B. A., Schulz, A. J., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (2018). Review of community-based research: assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual review of public health, 19, 173–202. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.19.1.173

Kim, K. K., Rudin, R. S., & Wilson, M. D. (2015). Health information technology adoption in California community health centers. The American journal of managed care, 21(12), e677–e683.

Kok, M., Crigler, L., Musoke, D., Ballard, M., Hodgins, S., & Perry, H. B. (2021). Community health workers at the dawn of a new era: 10. Programme performance and its assessment. Health research policy and systems, 19(Suppl 3), p. 108. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-021-00758-2

Kwan, K., Do-Reynoso, V., Zarate-Gonzalez, G., & Goldman-Mellor, S. (2018). Development and implementation of a community health survey for public health accreditation: A case study from a rural county in California. Evaluation and program planning, 67, 47–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2017.11.004Milton Keynes: Open University Press.www.dh.gov.uk/…/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidanceArticle/ fs/en?

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Question