Written community

Your Windshield Survey gave you a snapshot. Now you’re building the full picture.

The Written Community Profile synthesizes everything you observed with demographic data, health statistics, and scholarly evidence to create a comprehensive portrait of your community. This is exactly what community health nurses do when assessing a population before designing interventionsyou’re learning to think like a CHN.

By the end of this assignment, you’ll have a document you could hand to any public health professional, and they’d understand exactly what this community looks like, what health challenges it faces, and why your chosen priority matters.

WHAT TO INCLUDE

Your community profile should tell the story of your neighborhoodwho lives there, what you observed, what the data shows, and what health needs emerge from that picture.

1. COMMUNITY OVERVIEW (5 points)

Paint a picture of the neighborhood for someone who’s never been there.

Include:

Community name and location (borough/city, state)

Geographic boundaries Be specific. Use street names, landmarks, or zip codes so someone could find this area on a map.

Brief history How did this community develop? Has it changed over time? Any significant events that shaped it?

This section orients your reader. Keep it concise but vivid.

2. DEMOGRAPHICS & DATA (6 points)

Back up your observations with real numbers.

Include data on:

Total population

Age distribution

Race/ethnicity

Median household income

Poverty rate

Education levels

Employment/unemployment

Housing (ownership vs. rental)

Primary languages spoken

Where to find this data:

U.S. Census Bureau (census.gov)

County Health Rankings (countyhealthrankings.org)

City/state health department reports

NYC Community Health Profiles (if applicable)

Important: Cite every data point. Don’t just say “The poverty rate is 23%”tell us where that number came from.

3. WINDSHIELD SURVEY ANALYSIS (6 points)

This is where your Part I work pays off.

Don’t just summarize what you observedANALYZE it. Connect what you SAW to what the data SHOWS and what it MEANS for health.

Include:

Physical environment Housing conditions, streets, signs of decay or renewal

Health and social services What resources exist? What’s missing?

Transportation and accessibility How do people get around? Are services accessible?

Safety observations What did you notice about protective services, lighting, activity?

Strong analysis sounds like:

“Our survey revealed limited fresh food accesswe observed five fast food restaurants but no full-service grocery store within the community boundaries. This aligns with census data showing 34% of households without vehicle access, creating a food desert environment that may contribute to the elevated diabetes rates reported by the county health department.”

Weak analysis sounds like:

“We saw a lot of fast food restaurants.”

See the difference? Connect observations data health implications.

4. HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT (5 points)

Based on everything above, what does this community need?

Include:

3-5 health needs or concerns you identified

Evidence supporting each need (from your observations AND external data)

Prioritization Which needs are most pressing? Why?

Use multiple sources:

Your Windshield Survey observations

County Health Rankings

Healthy People 2030 data

Local health department reports

CDC data

Scholarly literature

5. COMMUNITY RESOURCES & ASSETS (4 points)

Communities aren’t just collections of problemsthey have strengths.

Include:

Health resources (hospitals, clinics, pharmacies)

Social services (schools, churches, community centers)

Informal resources (community leaders, cultural organizations, mutual aid)

How each resource serves the community

This isn’t just a list. Explain what each resource offers and who uses it.

6. PRIORITY HEALTH ISSUE (4 points)

From your health needs assessment, select ONE priority for your teaching intervention.

Include:

The health issue you’ve chosen

Rationale Why this priority over others? Consider prevalence, severity, feasibility, community interest.

Connection to Healthy People 2030 Which objective(s) does this address? Include the objective number.

Why a teaching intervention makes sense for this issue

This section sets up Part II-B. Your priority should be something you can realistically address with health education.

FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

Length: 5-7 pages (including cover page and references)

Format: APA 7th edition

Font: 12-point Times New Roman or similar

Spacing: Double-spaced

Citations: In-text citations for ALL data and sources

References: Separate reference page in APA format

HOW YOU’LL BE EVALUATED

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

BUILD ON YOUR PLANNING WORKSHEET

You already got feedback on your community, target population, and health priority. Use it. Groups that incorporate Planning Worksheet feedback consistently score higher.

WEAVE YOUR WINDSHIELD SURVEY THROUGHOUT

Your Part I observations shouldn’t just appear in one sectionthey should inform your entire profile. When you discuss demographics, connect them to what you observed. When you discuss resources, reference what you actually saw.

SHOW YOUR ANALYSIS, NOT JUST YOUR DATA

Anyone can copy numbers from a website. The skill is in connecting those numbers to observations and drawing conclusions about health. That’s what community health nurses do.

USE QUALITY SOURCES

County Health Rankings, CDC, Healthy People 2030, peer-reviewed journals, and government health departments are your friends. Wikipedia and random websites are not.

CITE EVERYTHING

If you didn’t observe it yourself, cite where it came from. This includes all statistics, health data, and information about your community.

BEFORE YOU SUBMIT

Community name and boundaries are clearly stated

All six sections are complete

Demographics include data from reliable sources

Windshield Survey findings are integrated (not just summarized)

3-5 health needs identified with supporting evidence

Community resources explained (not just listed)

Health priority justified with HP2030 connection

5-7 pages, double-spaced, APA format

All sources cited in-text AND in reference list