Community Assessment

Community Assessment: Chattanooga, TN
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Community Assessment: Chattanooga, TN
Community assessment is an important function and a key public health service. It is an integral part of population-based nursing curricula. Community assessment is very essential since it informs public health work; that is, decisions regarding what to do, how and where to do it. In this paper, an assessment of the community in which I live is provided, including a windshield assessment. The community where I reside is Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Demographics and vital statistics: in Tennessee State, Chattanooga is the 4th most densely populated city. According to the census of the year 2010, Chattanooga had a population of 167,675, and this figure increased to about 173,360 in the year 2013 (United States Census Bureau, 2015). This city is situated in the southeast section of Tennessee along the Tennessee River. The female population comprises 52.4% of the population while males comprise 47.6%. For Chattanooga residents, the median age is 36.3 years (United States Census Bureau, 2015). The following table shows vital statistics and demographics of this city.
Demographics and vital statistics for Chattanooga, TN (United States Census Bureau, 2015)
Quick factChattanoogaState of Tennessee Population (2013)173,3606,497,271Females (2010)52.4 percent51.3 percentMale/Female ratio 0.9:10.9:1Persons below the age of 56.4 percent6.4 percentPersons aged below 18 20.8 percent23.6 percentPersons aged at least 6514.7 percent13.4 percentWhites 58.0 percent77.6 percentBlacks34.9 percent16.7 percentAsian Americans2.0 percent1.4 percentHispanics5.5 percent4.6 percentTwo or more races1.9 percent1.7 percentAt least high school graduate 83.9 percent84.4 percentRate of homeownership 53.6 percent67.8 percentHousing units79,6082,812,134Veterans12,331484,902Language besides English spoke at home7.2 percent6.6 percentMedian household income $38,065$44,299People who live below the poverty line23.9 percent17.6 percentTotal number of companies17,466545,349Women-owned companies23.4 percent25.9 percentRetail sales4,055,95577,548,292Retail sales per capita $23,869$12,564Speak Spanish4 percent4 percentSpeak English92 percent93 percentMarried 49 percent 58 percentPopulation density (sq mi)1,182158
Environmental issues: a big issue that faces the leaders of Chattanooga City is certainly the management of environmental threats to Chattanooga’s air, water, and land quality. There are progressively more polluted waters by nonpoint sources such as pesticides and fertilizers from residential areas and agricultural lands; and toxic chemicals, grease and oil from urban runoff. Other sources include nutrients and bacteria from livestock, pet wastes as well as defective septic tanks; and eroded sediment from stream banks, forest lands, crop fields, and construction sites (Pearce, 2010). There is also considerable ozone pollution causing poorly rated air quality. This pollution problem is contributed by the increase in the number of kilometres that motor vehicles travel on Tennessee’s freeways. In a survey conducted in th...