Windshield Survey and Community Assessment

Identified Community/County:
This assignment assesses the intended course outcome(s):

Apply the nursing process and evidence-based practice to accurately assess family and community health systems across the lifespan.
Apply systematic research practices to identify family and community health system needs.
Discuss the multi-dimensional role of the community health nurse in risk reduction and health promotion
You may submit your data in an APA formatted paper, or you may elect to compose a PowerPoint presentation of your data and photos for submission. You may include photos, charts, or other items as needed.

A Windshield Survey gives an objective overview of a community. Information obtained from this exercise can be used to identify a community’s strengths and weaknesses. These direct observations allow one to better understand the environment in which individuals live and interact. This information can help us better understand the health status of the individuals within the community and the community as a whole.

As part of the Windshield Survey of the community, you will need to gather some demographic information about this community. This information can be found online through city or county websites. Include the following information:

Population statistics: Total population, broken out by age, race, and gender.
Median information compared to the state, age, income, house values, and educational attainment.
Health Data, mortality, morbidity, chronic diseases, prevalent diseases.
Data regarding communities can be found at the following sites:

Healthy People 2030
CDC
National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH)
National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)
Neighborhood Scout
County Health Rankings
US Census Bureau, and the Quick Facts site that provides statistics for all states and counties with a population of 5,000 or more
Maryland Department of Health Vital Statistics and Reports,
National Vital Statistics System
USA location Information (you will need to type in the name of the location in the search bar). You can also find information about the community regarding identified social problems.
This statistical data, along with the observational data from your windshield survey, will be needed as you construct your community health promotion plan.

Conducting the Windshield Survey:
You may use the Windshield Survey Tool found in the Week 2 Required Reading and Resources section for collecting your data. The survey tool is attached to this assignment.

When conducting your survey by car, there are several things to keep in mind:

Have someone else drive while you take notes.
If you must drive yourself, make sure you stop at regular intervals to record your data.
Be sure to map out your planned route beforehand.
If you have chosen a large city to focus on, you might want to consider narrowing your survey down to a single community in that city.
Try to be inconspicuous.
Pay attention to safety.
You will need to determine the most appropriate time to gather information.
You may want to divide your time and make several short trips to obtain a broader perspective of the community.
You can also make observations as you do your errands or travel to and from work.
Try to document what you see as soon as possible after your trip.
Avoid preconceived ideas about the community and record what you observe; strive to remain objective.
You can use a mini recorder to take audio notes or even a camera for pictures.
It should take no more than two hours to conduct the windshield survey, and another two hours to obtain demographic data on the area.
Please refer to your readings for further information regarding the windshield survey. ***Please utilize online resources to research – for information that is needed for windshield survey

Submit your data in an APA formatted paper. Include photos and other items such as graphs to support information obtained.