Executive leaders at Vila Health have asked you to provide them with your assessment of the health conditions in one of the communities served by the Vila Health system. Knowing that a windshield survey is needed to validate any underlying assumptions about the needs of the community and inform evidence-based decision making and strategic planning, you have decided to conduct a first-hand exploration of the community, followed up by an environmental analysis. An environmental analysis examines the factors that can influence the performance of a health care organization, which is important in a rapidly changing health care environment.
To prepare for the assessment, you are encouraged to begin thinking about how an environmental analysis and windshield survey contribute to assessing community health care needs. In addition, you may wish to:
Review the assessment requirements and scoring guide to ensure that you understand the work you will be asked to complete.
Review the Guiding Questions: Assessing Community Health Care Needs document linked in the Resources of this assessment, which includes questions to consider and additional guidance on how to successfully complete the assessment.
Note: Remember that you can submit all or a portion of your draft assessment to Smarthinking Tutoring for feedback before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.
Requirements
Complete this assessment in two steps:
If you have not already done so, complete the Vila Health: Environmental Analysis and Windshield Survey simulation.
Write an executive summary of your community health assessment, based on your windshield survey and environmental analysis.
The community health assessment requirements outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. The Guiding Questions: Assessing Community Health Care Needs document provides additional considerations that may be helpful in completing your assessment. In addition, be sure to note the requirements below for document format and length and for citing supporting evidence.
Assess, via a windshield survey, the general condition and needs of a community from a public health perspective.
Analyze the environmental factors affecting population health in a community.
Identify the social determinants of health in a community.
Summarize windshield survey and environmental analysis findings for executive leaders.
Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.
Support findings and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.
Sample Solution