Population Health Assessment And Analysis
Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422353” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc380422353 h 1
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422354” Community PAGEREF _Toc380422354 h 1
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422355” Climate PAGEREF _Toc380422355 h 1
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422356” Population PAGEREF _Toc380422356 h 1
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422357” Transport PAGEREF _Toc380422357 h 2
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422358” Recreation facilities PAGEREF _Toc380422358 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422359” Religion PAGEREF _Toc380422359 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422360” Healthcare PAGEREF _Toc380422360 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380422361” Community health diagnosis PAGEREF _Toc380422361 h 4
Introduction
CommunityHeath city is located in Kaufman and Rockwall Counties in Texas. It covers a total area of about 6.9 square miles and is made up of people from diverse backgrounds, races, ages, educational standards and incomes. Of particular interest to this research is the elderly group in the city, especially with regard to the appropriateness and sufficiency of facilities in meeting their needs.
Climate
Heath Texas experiences highly variable weather. As a city, Heath experiences some of the most extreme weather conditions. Its climate ranges from semiarid to subtropical-subhumid. This, in terms of precipitation and temperature, amounts to dry, mild winters, dry hot summers, and wet springs and falls. Heath Texas experiences its coldest month in January, where its temperatures average at 9° C, with the warmest period occurring at around July and august where temperatures average at 27° C. It is located in a zone that experiences an average precipitation of approximately 34 inches every year. This precipitation mainly occurs in the spring and fall, with the lowest precipitation occurring in the winter around July and August. It is worth noting that the region experiences evepotranspiration that exceeds rainfall in almost every month, with the discrepancy becoming even more pronounced from May to September.
Population
Heath Texas has an estimated population of 4149 people, according to 2000 statistics from the United States Census Bureau. These are approximated to be 1380 households, with 1214 families living in the city. Heath Texas is made up of a largely homogenous population as far as ethnicity and race are concerned. Studies show that as at 2000, Heath Texas was mainly made up of Caucasian who took up 95.2% of the population, with African Americans or blacks taking up 0.8% of the population (Bair, 2008). These two groups had experienced a significant decrease in percentage composition from the 1990 statistics that gave them 97.8% and 0.9% of the population. The only group that experienced a significant increase in proportion was the “Other Race” whose percentage moved from 1.3% to 4.0%, an increase of 2.7% (Bair, 2008). This may have resulted from the increased numbers of illegal immigrants. The “Other races” category is made up of Native Hawaiian, American Indians, Asians, Alaskan Natives and Pacific Islanders.
Heath Texas’ population is composed of individuals from every age group, albeit with varying demographics. As at 2000 census, individuals younger than 14 years old took up 26%, 7.5% for 15-19, 2.1% for 20-34, 27.8% for 25-44, 28.4% for 45-64, while the elderly individuals aged above 65 years took up 8.2% (Bair, 2008). While the percentage of the elderly individuals above 65 years may have gone down from the 8.7% in the 1990 statistics, the percentage of individuals between 45 and 64 has gone up from the 28.5%. This shows that the population is aging at a high rate.
TransportWhile Heath is a crucial city in Texas, it has a relatively underdeveloped transport system. Its roads are not properly maintained, and does not have any existing rail system (the closest station is 30 miles away) or even an airport, which poses problems to the transportation of the elderly, especially in case of emergencies.
Recreation facilities
Health incorporates a number of fun and recreation facilities including community parks and trail that continue to increase the opportunities for exercise, relaxation and play. Recently, the city came up with the “Comprehensive Plan” identifying and preserving land for other parts, as well as a trail system that will eventually connect all parts of the city (Hall & Porterfield, 2008). The existing recreation facilities include the Towne Center Park that is situated behind the City Hall along 200 Laurence Drive, Terry Park situated lakeside at Terry Lane’s end, as well as Community Room at City Hall (Hall & Porterfield, 2008). These, however, apart from being insufficient to cater for the bulging population of Heath City are also poorly maintained, thereby limiting the chances that the elderly will be using the recreational facilities.
ReligionHealth has 81.87% of its people as, which means that they are affiliated with a religion. Catholics take up the largest proportion at 12.28%, followed by LDS with 1.20%, Christians at 2.29%, Eastern faiths at 0.38%, while other religions take the remaining proportion (City Data, 2012).
HealthcareWhile Heath Texas is a relatively developed, it is clearly lacking of substantial healthcare facilities. The closest healthcare center is Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall, located about 3 miles away from the town in Rockwall Texas. Others include Texas Regional Medical Center at Sunnyvale and Lake Pointe Medical Center located about 7 miles in Sunnyvale and 8 miles away in Rowlett Texas. This significantly reduces the chances that the elderly will be provided with proper care when they need it.
Community health diagnosis
A community health diagnosis for the elderly population in Heath Texas is that it needs an improvement in its infrastructure catering for the elderly. The community is bound to experience an increase in its elderly population in the future. It is, therefore, imperative that the infrastructure is improved especially with regard to the proximity of hospitals, sufficiency of recreational parks, as well as the interconnectedness of the transport system.
References
Bair, F. H. Jr. (2008) – Planning Cities, City planning: what it is and what it should do. City of Heath
Hall, K.B & Porterfield, G.A (2008) –Community By Design, What Is Community Design Anyway? City of Heath
City Data. (2012). Heath Texas. Web retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.city-data.com/city/Heath-Texas.html” http://www.city-data.com/city/Heath-Texas.html
