Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to complete a direct observational assessment of a community in your area. This windshield survey will be the initial step in uncovering a community health problem in your area and identifying community dynamics. This problem will be further assessed in the following two assignments.

Course Outcomes

This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcome.

CO2: Assess the health needs of individuals, families, aggregates, and communities using demographic and epidemiological data to identify population health risks. (PO 4)

Due Date

Submit your completed windshield survey form by 11:59 p.m. MT Sunday of Week 2.

Points: 150 points

Directions

1. Download the Community Windshield Survey form (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Type your name and answers directly onto this Word document. Your form does not need to follow APA formatting; however, you are expected to use a professional writing style with complete sentences, accurate grammar, and correct spelling. If references are used, they must be cited in the text and the complete reference should be included in the reference box in APA format. References are optional.
2. Watch Caring for Populations project overview and Milestone 1 tutorial (click this link or copy and paste it into your browser): http://www.brainshark.com/devry/CourseProjectandMS1_2016. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
3. Save the form by clicking Save as and adding your last name to the file name; for example, NR443 Windshield Survey Form_Smith.
4. Submit the completed form by Sunday, 11:59 p.m. MT at the end of Week 2.
5. Length: The completed form should be three to four pages in length (not including any optional references).

Guidelines

Below are the requirements needed for successful completion of the Windshield Survey Form.

1. Introduction to the Community: Identify the community you will be using for this assignment with the city and state and provide a brief, one paragraph description of the community. Your community should be the area where you live or the area surrounding your work setting. The community must include a residential area and be broad enough to answer the survey questions. You do not need to include demographic data.
2. Windshield Survey: Assess your community by doing a windshield survey. Information about the components of a windshield survey is located in your textbook, Nies & McEwen (2015) on page 98 (Box 6-2). Drive through the area and report your observations by describing each of the following six areas using a majority of the questions from each category of Box 6-2 as your guide (one to two in depth paragraphs for each category). Be sure to include what you observed related to each of these categories, and also include any significant items that are missing in your community because this may be equally important in identifying a community health problem.
   1. Community vitality
   2. Indicators of social and economic conditions
   3. Health resources
   4. Environmental conditions related to health
   5. Social functioning
   6. Attitude toward healthcare

Note: It is helpful to conduct this assessment at least two different times: during the day or evening, on a weekday and/or on the weekend. If possible, plan on asking someone to drive during your survey so that you can take notes.

3. Vulnerable population: Identify an aggregate or vulnerable population in your community based on your observations. What did you observe about this population? See Units five (5) and six (6) in Nies and McEwen (2015) for examples of vulnerable populations and aggregates.
4. Conclusion: Provide a summary of your findings. Describe several potential community health problems for the vulnerable population that you identified.
5. References: The purpose of this assignment is to document your observations of your community. Outside sources are not required. However, if sources are used, these sources must be cited within the form (Author, year) and listed in the reference section in APA format (see APA resources for help with formatting).

Best Practices in Completing the Form

The following are best practices in preparing this project.

• Make sure all elements of the form are included.
• Review directions and grading rubric below thoroughly.
• Cite any outside references as above (these are optional).
• Use a professional writing style with complete sentences.
• Proofread prior to final submission.
• Check for spelling and grammar errors prior to final submission.
• Abide by the Chamberlain academic integrity policy.

**Academic Integrity Reminder**

Chamberlain College of Nursing values honesty and integrity. All students should be aware of the Academic Integrity policy and follow it in all discussions and assignments.

By submitting this assignment, I pledge on my honor that all content contained is my own original work except as quoted and cited appropriately. I have not received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment.

Please see the grading criteria and rubrics on this page.

 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.