Introduction
The community of concern is that of the Naranja area, which is a suburban area located southwest of Miami, Florida. The population of the area is racially diverse and generally has low access to healthcare. The majority of people in the area are young Hispanic residents aged under 10 or 25-35 (Statistical Atlas, 2018). Adolescents and youths represent one of the key vulnerable populations in the area due to their tobacco use. In adolescents, tobacco use is a major health problem that can lead to poor health in later life. The purpose of this paper is to explore the vulnerable population and assess its health needs in order to address them and improve community health.
Vulnerable Population Overview
The vulnerable population observed in the windshield survey are adolescents living in the Naranja area. The focus will be on young adults aged 12-18, as they are subject to increased tobacco use and associated health problems, such as poor nutrition and behavioral problems (aggression). These problems are characteristic of areas with low socioeconomic status and decreased access to healthcare. As indicated by the windshield survey, there are no primary care facilities or hospitals in the area, which means that people have to travel to another district to obtain medical aid. Another factor limiting the vulnerable population’s access to health services is their low socioeconomic status. If their parents lack stable employment, many adolescents in question probably lack insurance.
Despite possible health concerns, adolescents of the Naranja area actively participate in community life and are present in the streets. Although some of them work part-time, and most of them are enrolled in full-time education, they are still visible in the streets during day hours, which means that they skip classes. Low educational attainment presents another concern as it affects further life and employment. Furthermore, adolescents that miss classes are at a higher risk of showing delinquent behavior and developing alcohol or substance abuse (Dulcan, Ballard, Jha, & Sadhu, 2017). Overall, the chosen vulnerable population is affected by the current economic conditions and thus has several important health concerns; however, high tobacco use is most prominent, and thus it was chosen as the focus area for the present project.
Strengths, Risk Factors, and Barriers
The key strength of the vulnerable population is their age. Health consequences of smoking, including heart disease, stroke, and cancer, are generally associated with years of smoking (Pbert et al., 2015). Thus, it is unlikely that adolescents in question have already developed any health problems because of smoking. On the downside, however, if they do not cease smoking, they might develop health complications at an earlier age than those who started smoking in adulthood. Thus, encouraging smoking cessation and preventing adolescents from smoking in the first place is critical to promote community health.
There are several risk factors that are associated with adolescent tobacco use, including parental smoking (Pbert et al., 2015). Thus, including the entire community in the health promotion initiative could have a positive effect on adolescents’ smoking. Alcohol or drug consumption and association with delinquent peer groups are also among the important risk factors to be addressed (Lee, Hebert, Nonnemaker, & Kim, 2015). It is also critical to note that the chosen group experiences barriers to health care, particularly due to its low socioeconomic status.
Community Resources
As indicated by the windshield survey and the exploration of the Florida Department of Health website, the health resources available to the chosen group are inadequate. There are no primary care hospitals in the area and very few private clinics. Naranja Health Center is the primary source of medical care for the residents of the community, which is why it is overpopulated. In addition, the said health center does not provide smoking cessation help or offer smoking cessation initiatives. Thus, the needs of the target community with regards to smoking remain unaddressed.
Community Health Problem Diagnosis
The priority of community health problems is the high incidence of tobacco use among adolescents. The Healthy People 2020 objective that describes the problem is TU-2 “Reduce tobacco use by adolescents” (ODPHP, 2018, para. 2). Interventions pursued to reduce the problem include packaging design, educational interventions, and pharmacotherapy (ODPHP, 2018).
Conclusion
Overall, adolescent health in the Naranja area of Miami, Florida, poses significant concerns. High use of tobacco products among adolescents is the priority health problem identified by the survey. Adolescents living in the community are exposed to parental smoking and substance abuse, which affects the trends in adolescent smoking. Moreover, the survey showed a clear lack of adequate health resources in the area, which affects the health of the community, including the target population. Reducing tobacco use among adolescents is among the Healthy People 2020 objectives proposed by the ODPHP (2018). Interventions offered by the ODPHP (2018) include education, counseling, and pharmacotherapy. However, given the problems evident in the community, it is clear that effective intervention would involve not just adolescents but also their parents and other community members. Reducing tobacco use and promoting smoking cessation in the target population would help to improve community health and contribute to achieving Healthy People 2020 objectives.
References
Dulcan, M. K., Ballard, R. R., Jha, P., & Sadhu, J. M. (2017). Concise guide to child and adolescent psychiatry (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Lee, Y. O., Hebert, C. J., Nonnemaker, J. M., & Kim, A. E. (2015). Youth tobacco product use in the United States. Pediatrics, 135(3), 409-415.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP). (2018). Tobacco use. Web.
Pbert, L., Farber, H., Horn, K., Lando, H. A., Muramoto, M., O’Loughlin, J.,… Klein, J. D. (2015). State-of-the-art office-based interventions to eliminate youth tobacco use: the past decade. Pediatrics, 135(4), 734-747.
Statistical Atlas. (2018). Race and ethnicity in Miami, Florida. Web.