Running head: WINDSHIELD SURVEY
Windshield Survey
Brittany Gudbrandson
Ferris State University
NURS 340
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Windshield Survey
Observing a community through a birds eye view, or through the lens of a
windshield can provide a very valuable assessment. A windshield survey does just that
and is performed either by walking around or driving throughout a community. However,
before one can start this journey, the term community must first be defined. A
community, as defined by the text, Community and Public Health Nursing: Evidence for
Practice, is a group of people sharing common interests, needs, resources, and
environment; an interrelating and interacting group of people with shared needs and
interests (Harkness, G & DeMarco, R, 2016, p 187).
As one is driving around the community and observing the different elements of
it, it is important to keep in mind the health of community, as this is what is being
evaluated. Community health can be defined as the collective health of a group of people
that can be affected by health disparities and environmental changes. As a public health
nurse, one would be very concerned and passionate about the community that they are
serving and living in. As a result, the community becomes the nurses client. What
exactly does this mean? A community as a client is a group of people that are under
assessment in order to increase the health and wellness of the said community.
Healthy People 2020 is a health initiative that has been created by the US
government in an effort to address specific health goals in a ten year period. According to
the Health People 2020 website, Healthy People 2020 contains 42 topic areas with more
than 1200 objectivesA smaller set of objectives, called leading health indicators, have
been selected to communicate high-priority health issues and actions that can be taken to
address them (HealthyPeople.gov, 29, June, 2015, para 1). These goals, or objectives,
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coincide with health indicators and these indicators are used to help assess the health of
the community. One example of a specific health indicator is access to health services.
This can also be considered a social determinant of health. The nurses role in Healthy
People 2020 is to help with community assessments in order to track the progress of the
communities with the health goals. Another role of a nurse in Healthy People 2020 is to
provide services to the community members. By doing these things, a nurse will be able
to help aide the community in reaching the nationally recognized goals.
Let us apply these previously mentioned definitions and concepts to a specific
community that I decided to evaluate using the Windshield survey format. The
community that I work in is Muskegon. Because I am a part of this community, I thought
that this would be a great place to evaluate. Four aspects of this community that I can see
as a health risk include the following: violence and injury levels, increased mental health
demands, increased substance abuse, and the access to health care. All of these things are
major issues in the Muskegon and surrounding area. As a result, I see a lot of patients
hospitalized for what could be preventable conditions.
The following graph provides a synapsis of the windshield survey that was done
on Muskegon. Each box addresses a specific portion of the community by listing
observations that were made.
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References
Harkness, G. & DeMarco, R. (2016). Community and public health nursing:
Evidence for practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
HealthyPeople.gov. (29, June, 2015). Leading health indicators. Retrived from
http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/Leading-Health-Indicators
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Housing and zoning:
Housing age varies
depending on the area in the
community. Houses closer to
the lakeshore are newer and
more expensive compared to
houses downtime which are
old, and run down.
Architecture varies
depending on lakeshore
proximity as well. However,
all houses are wood-framed
single family homes,
detached from other homes,
with small yards in the front
and back. Some apartment
complexes are present as
well. Houses near the
lakeshore are in good repair
and houses downtown show
signs of distress and damage.
Open space: There is very
little open space in
downtown Muskegon. There
are few parks located in the
downtown area and the parks
that are available are more
rubble filled than open green
areas. When venturing
farther towards the
lakeshore, more green filled
parks are present with lots of
trees near the pavement and
green islands in the center of
the streets. There is an equal
mixture of public and private
areas with public areas used
heavily by the general
population. The most
popular would be the
beautiful beaches located
along Lake Michigan.
Transportation:
People move in and
out of Muskegon
mostly by the use of
personal cars. There is
a taxi service available
for those who need it.
There is also a local
airport with daily
flights. For those who
do not have a vehicle,
foot traffic is heavily
used. Streets are in a
suitable condition for
heavy car traffic.
There are also plenty
of sidewalks and
foot/bike paths to be
used by walkers and
bikers. Major
highways include 31
and 96. 31 runs north
and south through
Muskegon and 96 runs
eats and west.
Service centers:
Service centers in the
area include,
Community mental
health, the health
department, a
womens home as well
as a mens home, and
the local food bank. I
have not come across
any recreation centers
but have seen a lot of
signs for local school
activities during the
school year. There are
many parks located
throughout the city as
well as doctors offices
of all sorts.
Race and ethnicity: There is
a good mixture of both
Caucasian and African
American people living in
Muskegon. However, where
these people live is often
segregated. Most Caucasian
people live near the
lakeshore and most AfricanAmerican people live in the
downtown area. There are no
indications of other
ethnicities in this area. All
signs are written in English
and all of the churches that
were seen were either
Catholic or Christian
churches.
Religion and politics:
Religion of the residents
appears to be mostly
Christian and Catholic. I was
not able to find evidence of
any other type of church.
Churches are filled multiple
times during the week and
attendance on Sunday
mornings is high. I did not
see any evidence of political
campaigns at this time so I
am unsure as to the majority
political view of the area.
However, with the
conservative nature of the
majority community, one can
guess that the majority
religion is Republican. There
are no political headquarters
located in this area.
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Boundaries: The western
boundary of Muskegon
would be Lake Michigan.
This is a natural boundary.
The northern boundary is the
Muskegon river, which is
also a natural boundary.
Beyond this river, one enters
North Muskegon. The
southern boundary is made
by a community line and the
same can be said about the
eastern boundary. As you
approach northern and
southern boundaries, housing
units dont really change.
However, the closer you get
to the western boundary, the
housing units become more
beachy, vacation homes.
Industry is mainly located in
the downtown area. No
specific names are given to
specific parts of the
community.
Stores and street
people: Most people
shop and the Lakes
Mall, which is located
in a suburb of
Muskegon. Located
just next to the mall
are multiple chain
stores as well.
Travelling to and from
the stores is done via
car or taxi. People on
the street include a
fairly large population
of homeless on the
street corners as well
as teenagers creating
foot traffic. An
occasional teenage
mother with her
daughter can be seen
walking on the main
roads. There are no
stray animals seen on
the streets during my
assessment.
Health and morbidity:
There are multiple hospitals
as well as doctors offices
located in the area. Similarly,
there is also a presence of
pain clinics and dialysis
centers throughout the city.
These things can indicate
chronic as well as acute
illnesses. Community mental
health centers are also
abundant, indicating a need
for mental health aid.
Accidents are numerous and
the heroin, cocaine,
marijuana industry is
booming in the downtown
area. The nearest hospital is
located centrally downtown
with two campuses located
less than two miles apart.
Clinics are located all over
town.
Commons: From what I
could observe, neighborhood
hangouts include the local
mall, the local bowling alley,
and then the lakeshore.
However, this may change
during the winter seasons.
Hours of occupation are
from morning until midnight. A city ordinance
closes all businesses at
midnight in order to reduce
crime rates. There is no
sense of territoriality and
common areas are open to
the stranger and or tourist.
Signs of decay: The
neighborhood near the
lakeshore is definitely
on its way up. There is
a lot of new
construction going on
here as well as new
restaurants and
businesses opening up.
Currently, there is
evidence that the town
is trying to clean up
the downtown area.
New housing projects
are underway and
many events held by
the city are being
Media: Outdoor television
antennas are numerous
throughout all
neighborhoods in Muskegon.
The local newspaper is
called the Muskegon
Chronicle. This is delivered
daily with a special paper on
Sunday. No major magazines
are seen in stores except the
major tabloids. Media that
appears important to
residents is television.
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hosted in the
downtown area.
However, there is a lot
of work still to be
done and the crime
rate is still high as well
as areas of abandoned
housing, cars, and
trash.
