Community Health SLP 3

ASSESS HEALTH CARE AND VALUABLE RESOURCES 2

Assess Health Care and Valuable Resources

Assess to Health Care and Valuable Resources

The next step in the MAP-IT approach after mobilizing is to assess. Evaluating the needs and services of the community is a crucial step in solving a community problem. MAP-IT helps to collect data to recognize the specific problems that impact the community. It also helps to organize such needs in such a way that the group will achieve the outcome. Organizations that use MAP-IT to solve health problems will effectively assign resources and set priorities for what problem they can solve first before another (Ctb.ku.edu, 2020). This project focuses on a non-English speaking family that has moved from Mexico to the United States. The couple, Pio and Consuela Montoya are currently living in San Antonio, Texas, with their one-year-old son, Rico. The low-income family has numerous health problems, including obesity, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and substance abuse.

Areas of Greatest Need

A sound health care system and health policy are important needs of society and to the Montoya’s. Most countries, especially developing countries, have inadequate public health tasks as they should. Those communities, for example, cannot cope with growing epidemic diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), as there is still a high rate of mortality among patients with chronic diseases such as kidney disease. To formulate a health policy, it is important not only to consider the key determinants of the health of the community but also the social and economic atmosphere in which that policy is being formulated and implemented. (Masic, 2018). Unfortunately, disadvantaged families with limited education have the hardest time to receive access to healthcare.

Inadequate education is one of the challenges that immigrants in America face today, which leads to high mortality rates (Johnston, 2019). Education develops knowledge and understanding, and it prepares people to recognize the significance of healthier lifestyles. A study revealed that education improves public health and promotes health equity between societies (Hahn & Truman, 2015). Health education will help the Montoya’s prevent behaviors that may cause their health to deteriorate. For example, alcohol and substance abuse is a major cause of obesity in most families today. Continued education not only encourages the family to stay away from harmful behaviors but also improve their future in society. For example, an educated person may get better jobs and higher earnings, leading to a healthier life. Less qualified workers are more likely to work in high-risk occupations, earn minimum wages (Woolf et al., 2007), and have more health-related issues.

Money and stress go hand in hand. Some developed nations have more unemployed people than in developing countries. Income gaps have emerged at a time when biomedical supplies manufacture only medicines that they can offer. The lack of education or skilled training has added to the Montoya’s low income. When a non-English - speaking family has assessed higher incomes, they can afford to pay medical premiums for their dialysis. A higher-income family will also have access to high blood pressure and medical medications in hospitals.

Potential Assets in Your Campus Community

Hope International for Community Development is a faith-based non-profit organization serving to assist and encourage refugees, immigrants, and vulnerable community members in San Antonio, Texas. Current programs provided include assisting in job placement, information and referral services, social service events, free English second language classes, and other welfare programs. Their mission is to support individuals through sustainable initiatives that reduce poverty, hunger, and social inequality.

At the Center for Refugee Services, they provide help with the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), guidance on applying for Medicaid, and citizenship classes. For adults seeking vocational training or who are employed and wish to pursue a college degree, the program accepts contributions from sponsors to fund scholarships. For families with infants, they offer instructional videos or in-class instruction on how to provide a safe atmosphere in the home as well as information on getting a well-child appointment and affordable daycare. As part of this initiative, a free Pack N Play bed will be given to those without the ability to buy one.

Being a member of the San Antonio community make citizens eligible for many free of charge fitness programs. Get Fit SA is geared to provide fun fitness activities, food, and nutrition education, healthy living festivities, wellness initiatives, and participation giveaways! The program Fitness in the Park is an opportunity to share in group exercises such as aerobics, Zumba, cycling, yoga, and many more. If a guest prefers to work out alone, almost all parks have been equipped with workout stations throughout. San Antonio has over 250 city parks and recreational centers, and over 181 miles of hiking trails for everyone’s leisure.

In conclusion, MAP-IT is an important tool for solving community and family health-related issues. Asses are one of the main phases in MAP-IT because the group will determine whether they have the resources to resolve the problems of most concern. The organization will assess the needs and goals for both Pio and Consuelo to help resolve their current health status so that they can thrive and live a good life. The "Health for All" resolution, introduced in 1977, was aimed at achieving a standard of health that would enable every citizen of the world to lead a socially and economically successful life (Masic, 2018). The organization will use community services to prepare the Montoya’s to strengthen their health, educational needs, and the need for a more favorable income. The outreach programs initiatives will provide them with choices for health care coverage, support in acquiring money for food, and how to ensure that their child develops well in a safe environment. The family will benefit from engaging in some of the San Antonio neighborhood wellness events that will prove to be cultural and entertaining.

References

Ctb.ku.edu. (2020). Chapter 2. Other Models for Promoting Community Health and Development | Section 14. MAP-IT: A Model for Implementing Healthy People 2020 | Main Section | Community Tool Box. Ctb.ku.edu. Retrieved 13 October 2020, from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/overview/models-for-community-health-and-development/map-it/main.

Hahn, R., & Truman, B. (2015). Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity. International Journal Of Health Services, 45(4), 657-678. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731415585986

Johnston, R. (2019). Poor Education Predicts Poor Health - A Challenge Unmet by American Medicine. NAM Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.31478/201904a

Masic, I. (2018). Public health aspects of global population health and well-being in the 21st century regarding determinants of health. International Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 9(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_476_17

Potvin, L., Gendron, S., Bilodeau, A., & Chabot, P. (2005). Integrating Social Theory Into Public Health Practice. American Journal Of Public Health, 95(4), 591-595. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2004.048017

Woolf, S., Johnson, R., Phillips, R., &Philipsen, M. (2007). Giving Everyone the Health of the Educated: An Examination of Whether Social Change Would Save More Lives Than Medical Advances. American Journal Of Public Health, 97(4), 679-683. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2005.084848