Identifying Community Health Needs

The well-being of a state or community needs evaluation through a precise cycle, including the medical care associations, to distinguish and examine healthcare needs regarding a particular disease and its effect on a state or local area. The interaction allows the specialists to focus on well-being needs and to plan and follow up on neglected local area needs. This study will focus on the spread of Diabetes in West Virginia, identification of the patient’s healthcare needs, and the most impacted communities by this disease. The data of this study is sourced from the State Department of Health, American Diabetes Association, County Health Data, and the American Journal of Diabetes.

NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 1 Identifying Community Health Needs

Demographic Characteristics for a State

Demographic characteristics include demographic makeup, race, ethnicity, illness rate, religion, level of education, and psychiatric diagnosis. Patterns of behavior emphasize most of these demographic factors. Age plays a significant role in how a person is treated in society. Community characteristics like income, employment, gender, education, and commuting are also detailed in demographics. Racial identification is frequently included in demographics (Minc et al., 2020). Within the racial categories of Asian, white, black, and African Americans, there are many different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Patients’ identifying information, such as their birth date and insurance, are included in their illness demographics. Medical billing is streamlined, healthcare quality is enhanced, and patient demographics bolster cultural competency. West Virginia has a total population of 1,775,156, with white, black, Asian, American Indian and Latino making up 93.1 percent, 3.7 percent, 0.3 percent, and 1.9 percent, respectively, according to estimates from the United States Census Bureau (2018). Around 14.1% are under the age of 65 and have a disability. Between 2017 and 2021, approximately 88.1% of the population will have completed high school. A significant proportion of the population is diagnosed with multiple chronic conditions, including diabetes, cancer, kidney and lung disease, arthritis, and elevated risk factors like obesity and high blood pressure.

There are many goals that disease prevention and health promotion share, and their functions are very similar. In order to completely alter the distribution of disease risk factors, the population approach to prevention suggests that interventions should be applied to entire populations (Minc et al., 2020). Environmental resilience and equity in human healthcare services are the most pressing issues addressed by the population health promotion and prevention initiative.

Trends Regarding Population in Demographic Reports

Between 2010 and 2021, the population of West Virginia increased by two out of every eleven years. The state’s population decreased by 0.8% between 2016 to 2017, and this was the most significant decline. Around 16.2 percent of adults in West Virginia have diabetes or approximately 232,336 people. The demographic reports suggest that diabetic trends have increased among American Indians and Non-Hispanic blacks (American Diabetes Association, 2022)

Like how clinical medicine is concerned with the development and expression of disease in the individual, epidemiology can be viewed as the development and expression of disease in a community. Public health officials are becoming increasingly concerned due to the persistent and, in some cases, growing significance of diseases. Population and comparison are two of epidemiology’s most essential concepts. A public health epidemiologist’s primary responsibilities include disease research, assessment, and policy formulation (ADA, 2022). The essential epidemiological tools are overview, supervision of program data analysis, and expeditious assessment. Multiple tools can frequently cover the same health outcome or interest indicator; However, different tools may provide different types of information.

The age, gender, and ethnicity of participants were gathered, according to the Diabetes in West Virginia report from 2021. Questions focused on general knowledge of type 2 diabetes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention were used to assess knowledge. 

Impact of Diabetes on the Specific Group In West Virginia

Diabetes affects 16% of the population in West Virginia, with 17% being black, 16% being white, and 10% being multiracial (Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Diseases, 2021). Among the other racial groups included in the United States Census, American Indians have a high rate of diabetes. They have a risk that is more than twice as high as white people, who only have an 8% chance of developing the condition as adults. Economic well-being, the quality of health care, and people’s quality of life all contribute to population health. The multidimensional nature of the issue necessitates the existence of difficulties in quantifying the population’s health status. Over 34 million Americans, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have diabetes and face its devastating effects. Medical expenses for people who are suffering from diabetes are approximately 2 times higher than those who are suffering from any other disease. In 2018, the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation distributed $926,068 in grants for diabetes education and prevention in West Virginia (American Diabetes Association, 2018). Heart disorders, blindness, and even death are the severe complications that are caused as a result of diabetes.

NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 1 Identifying Community Health Needs

Communication of Demographic Data and Health Needs

Hermann et al. (2019) conducted research that suggests that patient characteristics and demographics highly influence patient perceptions of communication in healthcare settings. The findings support patients’ perceptions of being treated courteously by healthcare providers’ positive behavior. In a fast-paced care environment, it is essential to treat patients individually and provide clear explanations of information to ensure comprehension. By promoting health literacy, authorities can communicate with the affected community and develop improvement plans.

One of the most important values is to treat patients with respect and dignity. This essential value is connected to actions that assist the team in providing exceptional care and support in the workplace of the healthcare industry. Positive effects on patient satisfaction were seen when nurses incorporated practices like keeping patients informed of any delays in their care, keeping their information private, and responding to them appropriately. In addition, the individual’s characteristics, and behaviors, as well as their social and economic environment, influence health promotion and well-being (Hwang & Oh, 2020).

Conclusion

To summarize, basic strategies and intervention plans can address communities’ health needs once they are identified. Learning about a state’s demographic characteristics can help healthcare workers take suitable preventative measures and promote health. Epidemiology can play a significant role in this regard and could be used to oversee the analysis of program data and expeditious evaluation.

References

American Diabetes Association. (2022, July 28). Statistics about Diabetes | ADA. Diabetes.org. https://diabetes.org/about-us/statistics/about-diabetes 

American Diabetes Association. (2018). The burden of diabetes in West Virginia.  https://diabetes.org/sites/default/files/202111/ADV_2021_State_Fact_sheets_West%20Virginia_rev.pdf 

Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Diseases. (2021). Diabetes in West Virginia. Wv.gov.https://dhhr.wv.gov/hpcd/FocusAreas/wvdiabetes/Pages/DiabetesinWestVirginia.aspx 

Hermann, R. M., Long, E., & Trotta, R. L. (2019). Improving patients’ experiences communicating with nurses and providers in the emergency department. Journal of emergency nursing: JEN : Official Publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association, 45(5), 523–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2018.12.001  

NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 1 Identifying Community Health Needs

Hwang, Y., & Oh, J. (2020). Factors affecting health-promoting behaviors among nursing students. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(17), 6291. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176291 

Minc, S. D., Hendricks, B., Misra, R., Ren, Y., Thibault, D., Marone, L., & Smith, G. S. (2020). Geographic variation in amputation rates among patients with diabetes and/or peripheral arterial disease in the rural state of West Virginia identifies areas for improved care. Journal of Vascular Surgery, 71(5), 1708-1717.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2019.06.215 

United States Census Bureau. (2018). QuickFacts: United States. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/