N493-DQ2-Reply

Please reply to Patricia Lamarre – Please note minimum of 200 words. Please cite one scholarly source. In-text citation should be included.
Criteria From Tool Kit to Guide Me
There were three criteria I chose from the ACHI tool kit when I performed my community health assessment.
. Need among vulnerable populations
. Whether the issue is the root cause of other problems
. The opportunity to intervene at the preventative level (Step 5: Prioritize Community Health Issues, n.d.)

According to the CDC, By the year 2060 adults aged 65 or older are expected to account for 24% of the overall population. The majority of elders who have poor oral health prove to be at or below poverty level, do not have insurance, or are of a minority group. Elders that are disabled, homebound, or live in nursing facilities are also at a great risk for poor oral health. Because Medicare does not cover dental care, many people lose their dental insurance once they retire (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021a).
I had several health issues in mind when choosing my topic for performing my community assessment. I wanted to choose something that I was truly concerned about and that I could possibly make an impact in the short time we had to complete the assessment. Now with the community education project, it will give me an opportunity to reach some local seniors about the importance of oral health and how taking preventative measures even now in their golden years, will improve their health and quality of life as they continue to age. Even though this project is going to be a fairly quick focus, I feel that by just reaching a small group of folks will make a difference. Although it will be a small group, the people I can influence may in turn influence others to keep the information flowing.
We all know that prevention is key in most health issues, but unfortunately some, and probably most people, don’t put forth the same effort into oral health as they do for their other aspects of physical health. This is due to many reasons, but through my assessment, I learned the most common reasons were lack of knowledge and lack of insurance or available funds. Teaching and making people aware of the importance of achieving optimal oral health is probably the easier part, but getting affordable oral care is a whole different ball game. Through my assessment, I learned that there are many insurances out there, but for seniors, Medicare does not offer dental coverage, so buying into a separate insurance or being eligible for Medicaid/state insurance is a large obstacle. State insurance is only available for low income individuals and other insurances are not affordable for many. This leaves many left out and left choosing oral health over other expenses.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, May 5). Oral health for older americans. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/basics/adult-oral-health/adult_older.htm
Step 5: Prioritize community health issues. (n.d.). ACHI. https://www.healthycommunities.org/resources/toolkit/files/step5-select-priority

Please reply to Michelle Restivo – Please note minimum of 200 words. Please cite one scholarly source. In-text citation should be included.
A community assessment is described as an attempt to identify and prioritize a community’s health needs that is achieved through collecting and analyzing data, along with gathering input from the community (Clark, 2015). My community assessment was for the county I reside in, which is Deschutes County in Central Oregon. Deschutes County covers approximately 3000 square miles and the population is nearing 185,000. I reviewed the Tool Kit to help guide the prioritization process of my community health assessment findings. I learned that one can pick their priorities based on a multitude of areas such as, magnitude and severity of problem, need among vulnerable populations, community capacity and willingness to act on the problem, ability to have a measurable impact, availability of community resources, and whether the issue is a root cause of other problems to name a few. I felt my chosen topic is one that is severe, does impact vulnerable and those that are not vulnerable, can have a measurable impact and is a root cause of other problems. But it really came down to the other reasons that one can base their selection on, which was the importance of the problem to community members. I am doing this community education project, and I am the community member. I have chosen to prioritize the issue of suicide in our youth. Both my teenage sons went to school with kids that committed suicide. My close friend lost her son to suicide. Oregon has a higher than average rate of suicide when comparing national data, and we also had the highest suicide rate for those aged 15-24 in Oregon as a whole (Deschutes County Health Services, 2020). I want to focus my project on learning the warning signs, prevention efforts, and where to find help, along with where and how our community can help.  My community assessment also revealed that our community was concerned with safety and the increase in crime, lack of childcare options, lack of affordable housing and homelessness. But as I read and learn about these statistics and how our youth are struggling I feel this is the problem that is most severe and is impacting our community. More people need to hear these alarming numbers  and learn the signs and know they need to open up the communication. My goal is to have students, parents, teachers, and other community members be present for my community educational project and shed more light on this devastating issue.
Clark, M.J., (2015). Population and Community Health Nursing (6th ed.). Pearson. ISBN: 9780133859591
Deschutes County Health Services (2020). Mental Health Data. https://www.deschutes.org