Community and Health Assessment Report: Maeroa, Public Health

This report presents a community health assessment of Maeroa, a residential area with a diverse population. The assessment explores various aspects of the community, including cultural considerations, social support networks, available health services, and the physical environment. The report highlights the community's strengths, such as its supportive nature and cultural inclusivity, while also identifying areas for improvement, particularly in healthcare services. The analysis includes observations on the infrastructure, ethnic diversity, education, and social support systems within Maeroa. The assessment emphasizes the need for enhanced healthcare facilities to improve the community's overall health and well-being, acknowledging the impact of environmental factors and socioeconomic conditions on the residents' quality of life. The report concludes with a reflection on the author's learning experience during the assessment process.

Running head: COMMUNITY AND HEALTH
COMMUNITY AND HEALTH
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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Community and health
While assessing the community through the observation, I have been exposed to the
concepts like the cultural considerations, networks of the social supports, the health services that
are available and the physical form of environment (McMurray & Clendon, 2015, p.4). My
chosen community for this assignment is Maeroa, which is more of a residential area, that mostly
has houses with the cluster of shops and markets, various facilities for education and well built
guesthouses. Therefore, Maeroa have the focus on the education and the housing. For this current
essay, I need to analyze the learned terms like the communities, the various processes that are
needed to assess the communities etc.
The people from Maeroa are of different professions like managers, professors and the
technical workers. The average income of this region is low and has a high unemployment rate,
which can be because most of the females remain at home to look after the household. The
infrastructure of the Maeroa has been reported as poor including the roads and the buildings.
Flooding often occurs as the roads are uneven and bad. There are four main ethnic groups in
Maeroa. They are- European, Maori, Pacific and Asian. Maeroan region is thus culturally
diversified and they are reported to be living in peace and harmony. It has been reported that half
of the Maeroan population owns a car and thus do not have any transport issue. As far as
education is concerned, there are 4 early childhood centers and two schools for the young aged
children. The schools consist of culturally diversified students and hence they gain knowledge
about the different customs and inclusive community (Maurer & Smith, 2013, p.5). I have
observed that there were varied range of social support such as churches for the religious group
o people, sugar bowl café, a motor cycle club for the recreation of the youths were there. There is

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social support system for the elderly persons as well. All these indicate that the people of Maeroa
are community and family centered, who believe to provide support to the community through
different spheres and cultural needs.
Health is the ultimate outcome of the healthy interaction between the community and the
environment. Healthy communities are always dynamic and are constantly changing as the
people react to the different environmental conditions (McMurray & Clendon, 2015, p.4).
Health is multifactorial. The aim of the community health assessment is the development of the
strategies to identify the health related issues and cater to the needs of community health
(McMurray & Clendon, 2015, p.4).
On assessing the health of the community I have found that there were no immediate GP
services for the people in case of emergency which can be a serious issue, if public transport is
not available. Lot of greeneries is present which ensures fresh air for a healthy mind and body. It
is evident that this community invests very little on health care and therapies. Maeroa is calm
and serene, which is useful for the elderly persons and babies. I have also observed that the
presentation of the region does not support a very clean and healthy environment. The houses
and the roads are not found in a very good condition. Although there are few, who keep their
houses clean and maintain a healthy environment, which again can depend on financial factors,
availability of the resources. The following report provides us with the information that although
the people of Maeroa are supportive, the critical healthcare facilities should be enhanced in order
to increase the life expectancy rate (Jaskiewicz & Tulenko, 2012, p.3).

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The health assessments that are carried out in the Maeroa have me a broader form of
knowledge and experience about the several cultures, concepts of physical structures and the
society. Therefore, I can conclude that Maeroa have the strength of being a very supportive
community that are culturally inclusive in nature. However, it lacks the availability of the various
services for health. The overall process that are included in researching, collecting the data and
analyzing the health assessments of the community, helped me to identify the major needs and
the strengths of the community for supporting these elements of the society.

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References
Caplan, G. (2013). An approach to community mental health (Vol. 3). Routledge, p.5
Jaskiewicz, W., & Tulenko, K. (2012). Increasing community health worker productivity and
effectiveness: a review of the influence of the work environment. Human resources for
health, 10(1), 38, p.4
Maurer, F. A., & Smith, C. M. (2013). Community/public health nursing practice: Health for
families and populations. Elsevier Health Sciences.p.13
McMurray, A., & Clendon, J. (2015). Community Health and Wellness-E-book: Primary Health
Care in Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences, p.3