Jordan Town Windshield Survey: Examining Factors Affecting Community Health

Introduction

The windshield survey helps to identify the conditions and trends in the community that are likely to affect the health of the community (Rooney et al., 2005). The windshield survey in Jordan town can be determined using various factors that include, first; housing and zoning, the buildings in the area are not old thus they do not pose any public health risk to the community. They are also located in a clear location where they are accessible to all people within the community. Most buildings in the area are multifamily since they are meant to serve the entire community. Secondly; parks and recreational areas. The Jordan town has parks and recreational centers. For example, there is the Jordan community and recreation center that has a gym station, fitness center, and an elevated track. The recreational center is mainly used by adults who want to keep fit. There is also the lagoon park that has various features such as swimming pools and a running pathway. The park serves both the children and the adults in the area.

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Thirdly, stores, in the town there are several stores, they include a food shelf, grocery store, and supermarket. The stores are accessible to the community either by walking or using a car. Forth, service centers. The town has various social services, this include; first, a health facility they is fully operational offering both inpatient and outpatient services. Secondly, there are several schools in the area, for example, Jordan high school and Jordan elementary. Fifth, health and morbidity, there is no evidence of any health problem in Jordan town. The people in the area are perceived to be very responsible and also care about their health (Todd, 2007). Sixth, protection services. In Jordan town, there is a police station and fire center that are fully operational and ready to delegate their duties and responsibilities

Environmental Analysis

Environmental analysis of Jordan town can be conducted by analyzing various environmental factors that usually affect the health of the population. These environmental factors include; first, economic factors, the economy of Jordan city is not very stable since it only employs a small portion of the population. Only half of the population in the area have been able to find employment since there are only a few organizations in the area that are ready to employ people from the community. This means that there is a large number of individuals in the area who are not employed. Wage inequality is also another economic issue affecting the health of the population. The amount of income that a person earns is determined by race or gender (Clarkson et al., 2008). In Jordan, men earn more than the women; also the white individual usually earn more than the marginalized population. Secondly, social factors, the main social factor affecting the health of the population is distribution of wealth across the population. Wealth in Jordan city is unevenly distributed since there are individuals earning a very high income while other individuals are receiving a very low income in the area (Cave et al., 2000). This is likely to affect the health of the population since some individuals in the society will not be in a good position to support themselves.

There are also various social determinants affecting the community's health. These determinants include first; discrimination based on gender and race. For example, the white people are offered better services such as better pay, and better jobs as compared to the other ethnic communities in the area. This type of discrimination affects the health of the community since some ethnic communities such as the native Americans are not able to support themselves due to the limited resource and attention they get from the relevant authorities (Marmot & Wilkinson, 2005). Secondly, employment and Woking conditions in the area. The area has a low rate of employment since almost half of the population is not employed. Most of the unemployed individuals are from minority groups such as Native Americans and Asian Americans. There are also high cases of discrimination when hiring workers in various organizations; for example, the white population is usually offered the first priority in any employment position available in the area. This leaves many people jobless and no capital to support their health care needs. On the other hand, the working conditions in the area tend to be tough mainly for the minority groups since they are forced to do the tough jobs under harsh working conditions thus affecting their health conditions

Conclusion

The windshield survey and environmental analysis play a significant role in determining the factors affecting the health of the population in the community and determining the needs of the community members from a public health point of view. In the windshield survey, the condition of Jordan town has been identified by assessing various factors that include, housing and zoning, service center, parks, and recreational areas and protection services. While the environmental analysis has been conducted based on various factors that include; the economic factors and social factors that affect the health of the community. There are also other social determinants in the area that have played a significant role of determining the health of the community. These social determinants include; employment and discrimination based on gender.

References

Clarkson, P. M., Li, Y., Richardson, G. D., & Vasvari, F. P. (2008). Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis. Accounting, organizations and society, 33(4-5), 303-327.

Cave, M. R., Butler, O., Cook, J. M., Cresser, M. S., Garden, L. M., & Miles, D. L. (2000). Environmental analysis. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 15(2), 181-235.

Marmot, M., & Wilkinson, R. (Eds.). (2005). Social determinants of health. OUP Oxford.

Rooney, C. J., Ryan, H. D. P., Bloniarz, D. V., & Kane, B. C. P. (2005). The reliability of a windshield survey to locate hazards in roadside trees. Journal of Arboriculture, 31(2), 89-94.

Todd, R. (2007). Place-based learning in teacher education: a windshield survey. Social Studies Research and Practice, 2(3), 390-402.