Running Head: COMMUNITY ASSESMENT

Community Assessment: Health Status in Hawaii

Diana C. Pulido
Old Dominion University

Running Head: COMMUNITY ASSESMENT

Assessing the Community

NURS 492 Community Health Nursing
Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of the assignment is to apply critical thinking skills to identify problems in the
students workplace (or community if unemployed) and describe the gap between what is
expected and the existing condition.
Approach to Assignment
This assignment was approach by performing an assessment via research analysis on the current
measures, illness and statistics of health for the state of Hawaii. Healthy People 2020 goals were
reviewed to identify how close this state is to meet the nation average. A suggestion was
provided to increase awareness of current status and findings to formal authorities.
Reason for Inclusion
This assignment demonstrates the importance of performing the frequent assessment of the
community as this a great support and motivation for the community to consider a change in
their lifestyle, provides subjects for analysis to formal leaders for the development of strategies
that can be implemented for the maintenance of stability in society.
Critical Thinking

Engage in creative problem-solving

I engage creative problem solving by suggesting the importance of following a
framework In order to identify the needs of a community and develop a plan, the first
step is to investigate its current health. This can be used as the guide to identify weak
areas in need of improvement.

Communication

Produces clear, accurate, and relevant writing using correct grammar, spelling, and
punctuation
I produced clear, accurate and relevant data by not having any spelling, grammar or
punctuation errors as evidence by obtaining a 100% grade from my mentor.

Culture

Maintains an awareness of global environmental factors that may influence the delivery
of health care services
I maintained warned of the factors that prevent Hawaiian residents from adopting a
healthy lifestyle. The economy of the community and lack of resources were found to be
the key factors which affect health awareness in subjects such as safe sex and exercise.

Running Head: COMMUNITY ASSESMENT

Health Status in Hawaii

Running Head: COMMUNITY ASSESMENT

In order to identify the needs of a community and develop a plan, the first step is to
investigate its current health. This can be used as the guide to identify weak areas in need of
improvement. One of the ways this community assess health status is via comparison to the
Healthy People 2020 objectives from the federal agency. The most current birth as of 2013 was
37.1% (unmarried women)("Stats of", n.d.,), but Hawaii still considered one of the states with
longer life expectancy (80 years) to the rest of the average nation. One of the reasons for this, is
the introduction of antibiotics and the ongoing care infant and mothers receive during prenatal,
perinatal and neonatal stages, nevertheless, in 2012, the infant mortality rate still elevated at 4.95
deaths per 1,000 live births (Stats of, n.d.,). There are three major leading cause for deaths;
Cancer, often seen in people older than 35 years Currently both Honolulu and Neighbor Island
breast cancer death rates are similar or better than the "Healthy People 2010" objective(Health
status, n.d,), Heart Disease, in people of 25 years and older, and Stroke, at ages above 65. Other
causes are motor vehicle accidents ranging from teenagers to early adulthood, HIV infection
from a peak of 12.3 deaths per 100,000 in 1994 and an all-time low in 2003, at 1.6 deaths per
100,000. Similarly, the U.S. death rate due to HIV infection has continued to decrease and is
currently at an all-time low (Health status, n.d.,). Gonorrhea and syphilis currently under
medical alert have drastically increased in the last years. Another concern is Tuberculosis, ranked
as a number for the whole nation (caused by people immigrating from all nations), however, for
the past 30 years, Hawaii and the rest of the nation continues to be the lowest rate in compare to
other nations. Chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disease, mental
illness, and high cholesterol are accounted for 83% of the health care expenses due to their life
expectancy is greater in this community. In the near future, care, resources, and treatment
demand will increase causing an increase in health care cost, this should be closely monitored.

Running Head: COMMUNITY ASSESMENT

5
References

Health Status. (n.d.). In Health Trends in Hawai'i. Retrieved from

http://healthtrends.org/healthstatus_overview.aspx
Stats of the State of Hawaii. (n.d.). In Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved
from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/HI_2014.pdf

"I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form of
academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a member of the
academic community it is a responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the Honor Code. I will
report to a hearing if summoned."

Name: Diana Pulido

Signature: DianaCPulido
Date: 06/03/2016