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Windshield assessment involves moving and walking surveys from a moving vehicle, or by foot and can be useful for gaining a better understanding of either a community in general or a specific condition or aspect of it. For instance, this form of assessment can be useful to estimate the poverty level, as well a community’s physical, social, or economic character. Examples of information that can be gathered from a vehicle or by foot in community health needs assessment include: the age, nature, and condition of the community’s available housing; infrastructure needs; and the presence or absence of functioning businesses and industrial facilities (Community Tool Box, 2022).
Moving and walking community assessment have multiple benefits including the ability to gather an objective view of the community; is useful for understanding specific aspects of a community, including gaps in healthcare services; and allows for a clear comparison among different parts of the community; to identify health-related needs and resources that are available to community members; and can help to determine where to focus one’s public healthcare efforts. To get the best assessment of a community using windshield and moving assessment, public healthcare professionals may need to conduct surveys at different times of the day, week, and/or year (Community Tool Box, 2022; Washtenaw Community College, 2022).
One factor that positively impacts the neighborhood in which I am completing my practicum is access to the non-profit community hospital. Regardless of patient’s health insurance status, efforts are made to ensure that all patients are safely discharged back into the community. For example, for homeless patients, Case Managers work to transition individuals to shelters who work with local government and charitable organizations to provide essential resources. Payment for hospital bills is covered on a compassionate basis.
One factor that negatively impacts the population is Southwest Florida where my practicum setting is located is the skyrocketing home prices and cost of rental properties, as well as the shortage of rental properties. The cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the surrounding neighborhood has sharply increased over the past year to upward of $3,700 and many residents are unable to keep up with the rising costs. Additionally, the housing situation has been exacerbated by the recent Hurricane Ian, which has displaced many residents who suffered severe damage or loss of their homes.
