Windshield survey data and analysis
- The population is predominantly employed in factories, as well as in the field of transport;
- Noise pollution prevails in the air due to cars;
- A large number of eateries and fast food places carry their smell through the streets;
- Mostly people crowd and spend time near Hollins Market and Zella’s Pizzeria;
- Most people stroll and engage in their normal daily activities, such as going to work, school-run pickups, and outreach by distributing food.
Target Community
- The community is geographic (with phenomenological traits);
- The population is predominantly African American (approximately 60% in Baltimore);
- Working people 25-44 years old are about 30%, from 45 and above are just over 37%;
- 30% of the population has a higher education;
- About 25% die from heart diseases;
- Drug/alcohol -induced death reaches 4-9%;
- Births occurring during preterm is about 13%.
Summary
- Low-income predominantly African American population;
- Life expectancy is slightly above 70 years;
- More than 20% of people die from heart disease;
- Baltimore has infant mortality rates above the state and national averages;
- The number of deaths due to drug addiction and alcoholism, about 10%.
Trends in outcomes over time
- The level of alcohol and drug use will increase over time (given adolescent drug addiction);
- Due to the high unemployment rate (above 16%), the level of crime will increase, including murders and offenses under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs;
- The teenage pregnancy rate may rise in the future since the pregnancy rate is already high at 15-19 years old, almost 50 people per 1000.
Key Informant Interviews
- 10/20/2021
- Ms. Vernell Lewis (CEC volunteer)
- members of the community struggle with affordable housing, safe and healthy housing, pest and vermin infestation, and eviction proceedings, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 10/21/2021
- Mr. Daniel Lee (Unemployed)
- Lack of money can make it difficult to get competent health care. The community needs support against the backdrop of COVID-19, including information support.
Analyze community data
- Mental health is negatively affected by: drug/alcohol use, early pregnancy for girls, and unemployment.
- Community strengths: the support of volunteers, the availability of education, especially for children, and the protection of children.
- Challenges: Unemployment, high crime rates, air pollution.
The findings will help monitor the mental health of the community, will allow workers to respond quickly to extraordinary situations and solve problems even before they lead to dire consequences.
Community nursing diagnosis
Risk of mental disorders among girls living in targeted community related to high level of teen pregnancy and common unemployment, as evidenced by 48.8 teen births per 1000 female ages 15 to 19, and 16.4% of unemployment.
Nursing Intervention
A nurse needs to communicate with a person who needs care. Communication should reflect caring; Barker (2017) calls it “psychological intervention” (P.76).
Barker (2017) also notes that “nursing might help people to feel safe and secure but not bound and gagged” (P.146).
The person should not suspect that the nurse helping him hates him for his illness or lifestyle.
The goal of the intervention
The goal of the intervention is to check the person or people and make sure that their mental state does not lead them to crime or suicide.
With some groups of residents (young girls), it is necessary to conduct an educational, medical conversation about different methods of contraception. The nurse can talk in detail about how to avoid unplanned pregnancies and STDs.
Nurses will be able to reduce the number of early pregnancies and, as a consequence, the number of cases of mental disorders.
The goal of the intervention can be set at three suggested levels
- Individual. The nurse will meet with a specific girl or a specific pair of young people, find out their mental state.
- Community. A group of nurses and social workers will conduct careful conversations with the community to avoid or find early cases of mental disorders and unplanned pregnancies.
- System. Conversations with a psychologist and lectures on contraception should be included in the school curriculum.
Reference
Barker, P. (2017). Psychiatric and mental health nursing: The craft of caring. CRC Press.