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- NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 1 Identifying Community Health Needs.
Identifying Community Health Needs
To enhance the overall health status and eliminate health disparities, one must always know the needs of every state or location. This is because when a health care practitioner understands the needs of the people in terms of access to health care, health care information, education and awareness health promotion, and disease prevention, then it will be easier for the said practitioners to meet those needs fully. It can improve health and bring cheaper options for managing sicknesses thereby improving the lives of individuals.
As a result of this, this evaluation will seek to find out how many times high blood pressure was reported in the state of Arkansas. The information on the general demographics of Arkansas as well as the recent population shift will also be presented. Secondly, this evaluation will examine the demography that concerns the population and estimate the groups of the people of Arkansas who are most vulnerable to hypertension.
Demographic Characteristics
There are so many aspects that define the demographics of a person and such aspects can influence the perception of such a person in the society. Sex, and age, too, can be characteristics Education level, race, ethnicity, and SES can all be characteristics. Patient demographics in healthcare facilities are beneficial in enhancing respective cultural understanding, enhancing the quality of service delivery, and stress-free billing.
Being comprised of above 3 million people and with a median age of nearly 36 years of age, Arkansas is. As per the latest data coming from the US Census Bureau, the population of the region stands at 0 million. U. S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: The population of Arkansas at the time of 2022 shows that a greater majority of people are whites accounting for 78 percent. 6% being White. The next biggest race is Black or African American representing 15 percent of the population. Other ethnic groups brought up 7% while Asians comprised of 1%. 8%, followed by other races 3. 9%.
NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 1 Identifying Community Health Needs
It is generally regarded that health in Arkansas is not that good: obesity rate, smoking, and physical inactivity rates are high here. Overall, the state of Arkansas falls to the 48th position among 50 states of America, according to AMericas’ Health Rankings | AHR (2022) owing to the high prevalence of obese, smoking adults, and physically inactive population.
Some of the other chronic illnesses, for instance, diabetes and hypertension, are also not very rare in Arkansas. Data from America’s Health Rankings released in 2022 reveal that over 40% of Arkansas people have high blood pressure.
Population Related Patterns
Statistics of the current population in Arkansas reveal several trends and patterns. Here are a few examples: In the United States, there is a growing elderly population and the same can be said for Arkansas. The population density which was 103 people per square kilometre also increased and the median age of the state increased from 35. Nine in 2010 increased to thirty-eight in the year this study was carried out.
The number of people aged 65 years and above in 2019 was approximately 6 and this figure was determined by the US Census Bureau (U. S. Census Bureau, 2021). On the other hand, this tendency is expected to go on increasing. Some minoritized groups of people have increased in the population of Arkansas, but most citizens of this state are still White. Current Hispanic and Asian populations are 48 % and 37 % higher respectively than they were back in 2010. In consideration of the fact that Charles Hunt et al. (2018) pointed out that the percentage of Black Americans remained relatively fixed.
NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 1 Identifying Community Health Needs
The young people in Arkansas are moving to cities in the hope of finding decent employment, and therefore the rural population in this region is reducing gradually. Between 2010 and 2019, population decline was recorded in 59 of 75 counties in the state, of which rural areas experienced the most significant decline. Aid for in-depth studies and a precise percentage of the states’ homosexual populace may impact trends. They are a marginalized group in terms of social and economic status, health, and demographics to which little attention has been paid.
This lack of data could pose a challenge to efforts toward reducing or even eliminating health disparities and increasing access to quality healthcare services by LGBTQ+ persons. Another information deficit is income and poverty statistics categorized by demography, 3) Observed and expected income as well as poverty rate data are rare and thus inadequate, 4) There is also a scarcity of data regarding, life expectancy, by state and age group, and mortality, by state and cause. However, the poverty rate for whites has been decreasing over the years and still is much lower than that of Blacks and Hispanic people in Arkansas (Creamer, 2020). However, for some specific ethnic subgroups such as Native Americans or Asian Americans, there is comparatively less data available about poverty and income, and thereby it might require more effort to search for and eradicate disparities.
Impact of Hypertension on the Specific Groups
Hypertension is considerably prevalent with black Arkansans being the most affected as compared to other races. According to Smith et al. (2020) while whites comprised 39% of the people in Arkansas, 46% of the African Americans had hypertension. Inequality in health includes heredity, way of life, and socioeconomic determinants about this aspect. Hypertension is currently a concern in Arkansas and it is known to affect the elderly more thus, the need to worry about an aging population. As pointed out by Tsao et al. (2022), the proportion of participants with hypertension was higher among elderly persons than among persons between the ages of 20 and 64 years. As this emphasizes, it is necessary to screen and address hypertension among the aged people in the state.
Communication of Demographic Data and Health Needs
Arkansas is a rather diverse state which is home to just under 3 million people. Most of the population comprises whites, followed by African Americans, and Asians. One of the major health challenges in Arkansas is the management of chronic diseases, among them diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. This means that care has to be taken in addressing the issue of mental health in general due to the shocking rates of despair let alone suicide.
Avoid the use of large words and long phrases, avoid using organizational or any other industry-specific terms, and provide adequate details so that it is understood by all members of an organization. Among the visuals that can help relay information that may otherwise be very complicated or hard to understand are charts, graphs, and infographics. According to Germaine et al. (2020), there is no better way of getting the attention of the audience than telling them real-life examples or stories.
Conclusion
In my appraisal, I looked at the demographics and healthcare needs of Arkansas with a specific focus on the impact of hypertension amongst demographics. Two strategies that I explored as to ways to implement this knowledge to numerous individuals are the embracing of the utilization of graphics and symbols as well as the involvement of communities and groups. Read more about our sample NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 3 Identifying Community Health Needs for complete information about this class.
References
America’s Health Rankings | AHR. (2022). America’s Health Rankings.
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/learn/reports/2022-annual-report
Brooks, M. M. (2020). Countering depopulation in Kansas: An assessment of the rural opportunity zone program. Population Research and Policy Review, 40(2), 137–148.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-020-09572-0
Charles Hunt, D., Lawrence, M., & Panas, J. (2018). A changing Kansas: Implications for health and communities. Kansa Health Foundation.
https://kansashealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/KHF-KHI-Demographic-Report-060518.pdf
Creamer, J. (2020, September 15). Poverty rates for Blacks and Hispanics reached historic lows in 2019. The United States Census Bureau.
Germaine, P., Catanzano, T., Patel, A., Mohan, A., Patel, K., Pryluck, D., & Cooke, E. (2020). Communication strategies and our learners. Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology, 50(3).
https://doi.org/10.1067/j.cpradiol.2020.10.009
Smith, C., Porter, A., Biddle, J., Balamurugan, A., & Smith, M. R. (2020). The Arkansas minority barber and beauty shop health initiative: Meeting people where they are. Preventing Chronic Disease, 17.
https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.200277
Tsao, C. W., Aday, A. W., Almarzooq, Z. I., Alonso, A., Beaton, A. Z., Bittencourt, M. S., Boehme, A. K., Buxton, A. E., Carson, A. P., Commodore-Mensah, Y., Elkind, M. S. V., Evenson, K. R., Eze-Nliam, C., Ferguson, J. F., Generoso, G., Ho, J. E., Kalani, R., Khan, S. S., Kissela, B. M., & Knutson, K. L. (2022). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2022 update: A report from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 145(8).
https://doi.org/10.1161/cir.0000000000001052
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Arkansas. (2022). www.census.gov.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/AR/PST045222#PST045222
