Community Health Assessment Report: Chronic Condition Management

This report presents a community health assessment conducted in Downtown Memphis, focusing on the health needs of the elderly population, particularly the management of chronic conditions. The assessment identified physical activity needs, tobacco use, and chronic condition management as priority areas. The report specifically addresses the management of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, arthritis, and coronary heart disease, which are prevalent among the elderly. It highlights the health risks associated with diabetes, including sedentary lifestyles and lack of information on disease control. The proposed intervention strategy involves providing access to chronic disease self-management programs and offering education and counseling to the community. The expected outcome is a reduction in diabetes-related morbidity and reduced diabetes cases, achieved through community education, timely medication administration, and regular blood glucose monitoring. The report includes a SWOT analysis, identifying strengths like community and stakeholder support and weaknesses such as communication barriers. It also discusses opportunities for collaboration and potential threats like funding limitations and poor road conditions. The report concludes with references to relevant literature.

Running Head: health assessment needs 1
Health assessment needs
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In the following paper, a report has been addressed about the outcome of the health assessment
needs identified in downtown Memphis. The interview was done with the clinical nurse and the
members of the community where through the help of the clinical nurse, the formulation of
community diagnosis and intervention plan to solve the health problems shall be discussed.
During the community assessment, the top three priority needs for health that were identified
include physical activities need, tobacco use, and the management of chronic conditions. Among
these three health needs identified, discussion about management of chronic conditions shall be
addressed in the program planning proposal. The target population shall be the elderly, aged 65
years and above, because, during the assessment, many of them were found suffering from
multiple chronic conditions in the community.
According to Smith (2015), Chronic conditions refer to the diseases that last for more than three
months without healing. These conditions noted amongst the elderly include diabetes, arthritis,
coronary heart disease, amongst others. Chronic conditions cannot be cured but can be managed
to avoid their morbidities and mortality. There is a health risk of diabetes-related to the lifestyle
of the people, as evidenced by sedentary lives lived therein, lack of physical exercise, and
insufficient information on how to control chronic conditions and prevent them (McCardle,
2015.)
Diabetes is a disease diagnosed with fasting sugar blood tests. It is treated concerning the type of
diabetes, such as diabetes type 1, diabetes type 2, and gestational diabetes. Diabetes presence is
termed to be prevalent in society, which is associated with obesity, heart diseases, injuries, and
death, among others. This health need can be solved by educating the community members on
how to manage diabetes, for example, by properly administering insulin and taking of other
medications. Counseling and education should be offered to all members of the community to

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help every member in addressing chronic conditions and their related risks like poor nutrition,
high cholesterol, physical inactivity, and hypertension (Salzman, Collins, & Hajjar, 2012). The
intervention strategy to be used includes the provision of access to the programs of chronic
disease self-management such as weight watchers for obesity. The outcome expected from
chronic disease management is reduced morbidity associated with diabetes and reduced diabetes
cases. It is achieved by the community educators offering education, timely administration of
insulin, and medication, leading to controlled diabetes and reduced risks (Bergman, 2014). Its
management starts immediately after the administration of the first insulin or medication dose.
To identify whether the interventions offered for diabetes are successful, consecutive blood
glucose tests are done to know whether the right sugar levels have been maintained. The
resources needed include financial materials, blood sugar monitoring log, and human resources
such as carers, family members, and health care professionals such as the clinical nurse.
There are very many needs deficits in society. The health needs of a particular community can
only be accessed through community assessment to identify the types of care they need, the type
of education they deserve, and the topics to address for the betterment of the health of all
members in the community.
THE SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths: The strengths identified from the community assessment interview are that a
complete picture of the people willing to support change was created by the stakeholders, the
community members and the local government. Collaboration is expected among the community
leaders, the members and the health practitioners to help reduce chronic conditions together.

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Family support shall be provided to help the elderly in self-care which is a necessary step
towards successful chronic conditions’ management. The clinical teams and the community
health officers are ready to support the program through leadership and going beyond to educate
the community members about their health needs. Some of the community members are
conversant with Information technology who shall help in developing the program’s framework
and record patients’ /community data in the computer system.
Weakness: Communication seemed a very big challenge in the community because of the level
of illiteracy. A language barrier existed between some of the community health practitioners and
the elderly which may complicate dialogue. Also, the most of the elderly were found to suffer
from hearing impairment problems which may require a sign language specialist for
communication purpose. Financial resource is required in the project implementation, thus
requiring extra funding from the government and the well-wishers.
Opportunities: The present family doctors to be involved in enhancing participation and make
sure that they participate in role play. New partnerships are created by breaking down the
barriers found in the community, which shall help in health team support in the community. The
present local resources shall be used to promote opportunities for networking with the nearest
health facilities. For example, telephones are available which shall be used in making calls for
confirmation of an issue or during emergency cases in the society.
Threats: Failure for enough funding for chronic conditions management programs is a threat
because insufficient funding will leave the program a short term instead of a long-term process.
This shall make it impossible to meet the set targets of various chronic conditions in the
community setting. Insufficient resources are another threat in this process where the program
might not be accomplished to the end. The entire process from implementation, evaluation and

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report analysis needs enough resources for its success. Poor roads may pose a big threat to the
health practitioners to access all the set areas in the community. Inaccessibility to such a place is
a threat to the life of the ailing people which may lead to severe cases of the chronic conditions
reported, and increased mortality rate.

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References
Bergman, M. (2014). Global Health Perspectives in Prediabetes and Diabetes Prevention. Toh
Tuck Link, MO: World Scientific.
McCardle, J. (2015). The diabetic foot: a core component of diabetes management. Diabetes
Management, 5(2), 63-65. doi:10.2217/dmt.14.60
Salzman, B., Collins, L., & Hajjar, E. R. (2012). Chronic Disease Management, An Issue of
Primary Care Clinics in Office Practice - E-Book. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Health
Sciences.
Smith, S. M. (2015). Caring for People With Multiple Chronic Conditions. Preventing Chronic
Disease, 12. doi:10.5888/pcd12.150438