Social and Environmental Determinants of Health: Windshield Survey – West Park, California

Social and Environmental Determinants of Health: Windshield Survey – West Park, California

West Park, California is a small town in California located five miles southwest of downtown. The town is elevated at 266 ft above sea level. The total population of this town is 1,157 (573 male and 584 females) according to the 2010 population census. Its median age is 30.6 years compared to 37.0 years for California. The racial constitution of this town is 86.6% Hispanics, 8.6% Asians, 3.2% whites, 1.7% American Indian, and 1.1% Blacks. From a close look at the town, I noticed the main means of transport in this town to be car, trucks, and vans. However, it worthwhile to note a certain portion of the population uses bicycles while only a handful walks to work or uses public transport (Smith, 2018).

Increase access to high-quality and comprehensive healthcare the primary objective of every government in achieving universal healthcare coverage. I noticed many hospitals and medical centers within the West park, and this includes Golden cross Health care Frensco, Newhart Conv Hospital, and the rehabilitation center of Franco, etc. I notice that majority of them have health cover, including cover California, and medicare; these covers have eased the access of healthcare services to these residents. The family I choose was covered by medicare.

The primary goal of education aces and quality is to increase educational opportunities and to increase the performance of children and adolescents in school. I noticed that the area had universities, colleges, elementary, senior, and middle schools. The universities and colleges in this town cater to more than 200 students. This includes Fasco City College, Fasco Pacific University, and University Phoenix-central valley campus, etc. Of interest, I noticed that majority of residents above 25 years old had attained high school education (59.6%), only 7.3% and 1.6% had attained bachelor’s degree or higher and graduate or professional degree respectively (Magnan, 2018). I noticed that healthier people in this town were people who had attained a high level of education. I also noticed that children with disabilities and those from low-income families had poor performance in school. The constant stress in these children about their academic performance is likely to affect the development of their brains (Magnan, 2017).

Social and community context as a determinant of health aims at increasing social and community supports, while economic stability, on the other hand, aims at helping people to earn a steady income that will let them meet their health needs (Gottlieb, et al., 2019). In this area, I focused on people’s relationships and interactions with others. I noticed that the median household income according to the 2019 income per capita is $ 57,518. The percentage of poverty among residents of this area was as follows, 25% white non-Hispanics, 26.7% Hispanics, 29.4% other races.  I also noticed that majority of the people in this area were unemployed. Religion adherence in this area was 48.3% none, 31.0% Catholics, 13.5% Evangelical protestants, 4.1% others,1.8% mainland protestants, 0.8% orthodox and 0.4% black protestants.

The creation of a great neighborhood and a healthy environment facilitates health and safety in a community. In my study in this area, I noticed numerous construction activities. These construction sites may pose a lot of risk to the residents of this town.  I also noticed significant air pollution from the industries around and the vehicles. This exposed majority of people, especially children, to the risk of acquiring respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and heart disease.  It is worthwhile to note only 1.4% used wood for fuel as the majority used utility gas, 41.1%.

References

Gottlieb, L., Fichtenberg, C., Alderwick, H., & Adler, N. (2019). Social determinants of health: what’sa healthcare system to do?. Journal of Healthcare Management, 64(4), 243-257. https://journals.lww.com/jhmonline/FullText/2019/08000/Social_Determinants_of_Health__What_s_a_Healthcare.9.aspx