Research Assignment: Windshield Survey Community Assessment

Windshield Survey/ Community Assessment
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Introduction
Whittier is a neighbourhood in the South of Minneapolis. It is bounded by Franklin Avenue, Interstate 35W, Lyndale Avenue South and Lake Street (Whittier Alliance, kein Datum). The number of people that make up the neighbourhood is about 14,000 (Minneapolis, 2016). The historical landmark of Whittier is the Nicollet Avenue Commercial Corridor that is also called the East Street. It has a multicultural dining option from Vietnamese, Chinese, Somali, Caribbean, American and Middle Eastern, with diverse ethnic restaurants and groceries. Whittier is also referred to as the east street neighbourhood. The other avenues like Lyndale, Franklin, Lake Street and the 26th are also commercial corridors that other neighbourhoods share. The commercial corridors are dense and this is what attracts people to Whittier especially during the summer.
This neighbourhood is very vibrant and multicultural and it sits on the slogan “The international Neighbourhood.” In addition to commerce and its multicultural base, it is a home for arts and artists in Minneapolis for over a century now (Whittier Alliance, kein Datum). The purpose of this windshield survey in Whittier is to complete an environmental scan on the community and target the Hispanics population and their vulnerability to diabetes mellitus.
Population demographics
According to the 2010 census of population and Housing in Minneapolis, the general population of Minneapolis is approximately 382,578. Non-Hispanic white are the majority population composing of about 60%, then blacks of about18.3% and Hispanics about 10.3% (Minneapolis, 2016). With the windshield survey, the Whittier population composition is similar to that of the whole of Minneapolis. Whites make up the majority of the people followed by blacks, then the Hispanics and other races and ethnic groups make up the least. From what could be seen, majority of the population is made up of the youth of approximately 18 to 30 years.
Windshield survey findings
Whittier is an established neighbourhood majorly due to commercial corridors on the streets with the famous East Street as the dominant commercial hub. Pictures taken of the community clinic, restaurant, art centre and some houses along Whittier neighbourhood revealed that the community`s core is multicultural due to the existence of ethnic restaurants. The community has love for art and they have access to health care with the main source being the community clinic. The physical environment of Whittier looked busy, not many green spaces apart from those in institutions.
Diabetes is the major problem in the community from the advertisements of diabetes mellitus awareness and concern for the community to go through examinations and tests. In addition, the vulnerable population is the older Hispanics. There exists various places of employment like shops, stores, and office spaces. There are also recreational facilities like the art centres, good transportation and communication network that allows for access to health care. There is government support for creating awareness of diabetes and its prevention. English is spoken by a majority of the people although some Hispanics have difficulty in communicating well in English as compared to their native language, and this could be a hindrance in health care delivery and health education.
Nursing assessment
The incidences and prevalence of diabetic mellitus increases in the United States (Biel, 2013). Diabetes varies depending on race and ethnicity with African American being the highest followed by Hispanics (Oza-Frank et al, 2013). Diabetes mellitus is also prevalent among foreign born individuals. According to Mier et al, (2012) diabetes among minority groups especially Hispanics is a public health issue of great concern. Furthermore, diabetes prevalence and mortality rate are two to four times higher in older Hispanics than in non-Hispanic white counterparts. The community needs comes down to having particular aspects of diabetes prevention, incorporated into the highly rated incidents of diabetes mellitus in Hispanics in Whittier. These include the need for physical activity, preventive care, cultural competence, and healthy living and nutrition.
Physical activity, nutrition, healthy living and preventive care
Physical activity can be achieved through walking for transport, exercising for fun, having more parks and recreational facilities that are near people`s homes as this will improve walking and exercising. Nutrition and healthy living involve eating healthy and having nutrition programs that would promote a healthy population. Nutrition among the vulnerable population would prevent hunger, and it will increase access to nutrient dense healthy food (Díaz-Algorri, 2015). Poverty levels affects access to healthy foods and poor nutrition and lack of healthy eating would lead to more incidences of diabetes. Preventive care like health care preventive services that include screening, examinations and testing...