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Serving Vulnerable Populations

Serving Vulnerable Populations

Some organizations help control our food and educate the public on healthier lifestyle choices like food. Some preventable research diseases and food deserts assist people in these areas by providing resources. Because JK lives in a food desert and has limited family support, finding resources and assisting her with budgeting when shopping for meals is necessary.

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Medical Resources

The United States Department of Agriculture works to promote safe and healthy foods, protect our resources, and feed people. They use a food access atlas to show which areas of the United States are food deserts, as well as data on supermarket access and low-income populations. Many low-income people lack transportation and easy access to healthy food shopping. The atlas collects various data types, such as the ability to obtain healthy foods, family wages, vehicle access, neighborhood resources, and public transportation (United States Department of Agriculture, 2016).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works to keep people healthy and safe by protecting communities from disease, not only by concentrating on chronic diseases but also on preventable ones. Research has shown that food deserts can hurt health due to poor access to healthy foods. Furthermore, even those with access to nutritious foods make poor choices (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Many areas have small stores within walking distance, but they do not provide a diverse range of healthy options. Farmers’ markets in some towns sell fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. The food is often inexpensive, but these markets are not available in all areas. “Another distinguishing feature of food deserts is socio-economic: they are most commonly found in communities of color and low-income areas (where many people do not own cars)” (Food Empowerment Project, 2016). When people have a low income, it is critical to have access to affordable and easily accessible food options. People find it challenging to get around when they don’t have easy access to transportation, such as a car. There are places within walking distance, but in the winter, harsh weather in some parts of the country makes it impossible to walk to stores. Leading a healthy lifestyle entails eating healthily and not being sedentary.

The American Nutrition Association’s primary goal is to encourage people to live healthy by eating and educating them. They do not only communicate with community members and professionals (American Nutrition Association, 2015). This website contains valuable information about foods, food allergies, and obesity. There are also recipes for preparing nutritious meals.

Plan

As a person with diabetes who has recently been diagnosed, JK requires education on the proper foods to eat and lifestyle changes to help her keep her blood sugar under control. Begin by creating a plan with your partner and deciding on meal plans and what to limit, such as carbohydrates and sugars. Creating a shopping list can help JK know what to get, which can help avoid impulse purchases. Portion control is essential, as is not skipping meals. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a weekly grocery budget for people aged 51-70 is around $47. (United States Department of Agriculture, 2016).

Shopping

There are a couple of grocery stores along the bus route. Meijers and Festival are two; Meijer is less expensive and would be more useful when on a tight budget. JK should use coupons whenever possible to help keep her costs down. When she enters the store, there are sales papers, which she should use to bargain shop. Meijers also sells home goods and clothing, so she could do all her shopping in one trip and get everything she needed. Her family could assist her in obtaining a cart to assist her in transporting her belongings home.

Transportation

There are a couple of grocery stores along the bus route. Meijers and Festival are two; Meijer is less expensive and would be more useful when on a tight budget. There are numerous bus stops in the Kenosha area for residents living downtown, with no grocery stores nearby. Every thirty minutes until 8:25 a.m., every hour until 2:45 p.m., every thirty minutes until 5:05 p.m., and every hour until 7:05 p.m., a bus arrives. This is very close to the bus departure time from Meijers, with the last bus leaving at 6:35 p.m. The bus route is number four, and each trip takes about 25 minutes; she does not need to get off at any point to change buses. Aside from making it easier to avoid switching buses, the cost for older people is only $.85 each way, making it affordable (City of Kenosha, 2013).

Support

In Kenosha County, there are numerous services for older people. Some programs deliver meals to your home, and some offer discounts based on your income. Food stamps are one option for lowering grocery costs. An appointment can be made at Wisconsin Kenosha Racine Partners to determine eligibility for JK. Meals on Wheels is a low-cost home delivery service that can be reached through the city of Kenosha and has a phone number (Kenosha Area Aging and Disability Resource Center, 2016). JK’s family is also a great source of support. They cannot assist her daily, but they may be able to take one day and assist her in preparing meals for the week to freeze. This will make it easier for her to put her meals in the oven instead of starting from scratch every night.

Census information

Kenosha County is comparable to Racine County in income and poverty levels. Racine County has approximately 26,000 more residents as of July 1, 2015. Racine also has a 2.4% higher elderly population (those over 65). Racine County also has a slightly higher percentage of African Americans. When comparing the number of living units, it appears that Racine has a more significant number. However, those figures are comparable when comparing owner-occupied data from 2010 to 2014. The median income is very close, with Racine slightly higher; however, Kenosha’s percentage of people living in poverty is higher (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). The numbers appear to be similar when comparing two counties that are close together. The differences may be more significant when comparing larger counties in the United States.

Conclusion

In Kenosha, there are numerous valuable resources for JK. She has easy access to affordable transportation close to her home. Not only does she have transportation to the store, but there are also resources for low-cost food delivery to older people. JK should be able to stick to a low-cost diet and make healthy choices with the help of her family and the right resources.

Similar Post: The DNP-Prepared Nurses and Their Community

References

American Nutrition Association. (2015). About the American Nutrition Association. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://americannutritionassociation.org/about

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012, September 24). A look inside food deserts. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/features/FoodDeserts/index.html

The City of Kenosha. (2013, January 1). City of Kenosha, Wisconsin: CITY DEPARTMENTS: TRANSPORTATION: BUS INFORMATION. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from https://www.kenosha.org/departments/transportation/businfo.html

Food Empowerment Project. (2016). Food Deserts. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://www.foodispower.org/food-deserts/

Kenosha Area Aging and Disability Resource Center. (2016, February). Food assistance, pantries, and home-delivered meal programs. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://www.kenoshacounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/1792

United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Quick facts. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/55101,55059

United States Department of Agriculture. (2016, September). Official USDA food plans: Cost of food at home at four levels. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodJan2015.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture. (2016, October 19). Food access research atlas. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/about-the-atlas/

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Question 


Part 1: Serving Vulnerable Populations

Imagine you are a community health nurse assigned to care for a family with a newly diagnosed type-2 diabetic member. The diabetic family member, JK, is a 66-year-old Black woman with hypertension and asthma. JK lives in a food desert and does not drive. JK’s family visits her weekly, but they have complicated lives and cannot provide daily care.

Serving Vulnerable Populations

Evaluate the following community health resources and summarize them in a table:

Create a plan detailing opportunities for JK to gain adequate access to appropriate foods for one week and address the following:

Compare JK’s community to your county census data.

Format your assignment as a 10- to 15-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes.

Part 2: Disease Prevention Teaching Project

Step 1: Choose a community health agency (daycare, church, school, clinic, homeless shelter).

Step 2: Review Table 1-1 (p. 49) of Community/Public Health Nursing and the results of your windshield survey completed in Week 2.

From the results of your windshield survey, you will identify a health issue facing the community. You will prepare an outline for a teaching project surrounding the issue, which you will present to your selected agency about this issue.

Assess the community for:

Step 3: Recommend an appropriate disease prevention teaching project that your chosen agency could offer for the local community.

Prepare a 750-word summary of the teaching project with the following:

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