NURS 440 Week 4 Community Assessment Part 2: Objective Data, Environmental Health and Interviews Example

Community Assessment Part 2: Objective Health Data, Environmental Health and Three Resident Interviews for Lynchburg, Virginia

Objective Data

The community is the city of Lynchburg, Virginia, with an estimated population of about 79,500 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2025). Maurer and Smith (2013) emphasize that objective data should describe the community itself, which is why the table uses city-level estimates rather than state or national figures. The estimates below come from the CDC's PLACES 2025 release and describe adults in 2023 unless otherwise noted.

The data support two of the windshield survey's impressions. Food insecurity affects about one adult in six, consistent with the limited fresh food I saw in neighborhood stores, and diabetes and obesity are common. Transportation barriers affect about one adult in ten, which fits what I saw of residents walking uphill with groceries. These are city-wide estimates; the older neighborhood I surveyed may differ, which the interviews help address.

Environmental Health

Lynchburg's older neighborhoods present environmental health concerns tied to housing and climate. Many homes I observed were built in the early and middle twentieth century, before the 1978 federal ban on lead paint in homes, so peeling paint on porches and window frames may expose young children to lead dust; a Chicago analysis tied childhood lead poisoning rates to building age and economic hardship (Lee & Hu, 2024). Older homes can also hold moisture, mold and pests that aggravate respiratory disease; the city's estimated adult asthma prevalence of 11.7% (CDC, 2025) suggests respiratory health deserves attention. Heat is a second concern. Summers in central Virginia are hot and humid, and older homes without central air conditioning can become dangerous for older adults and people with heart disease, especially when residents worry about utility bills; an estimated 8.7% of adults reported a utility shut-off threat in the past year (CDC, 2025). Older adults who live alone, like several I met during the windshield survey, are at particular risk because no one may notice early signs of heat illness. A community health nurse could promote lead screening for young children in older housing, connect families with home repair and weatherization programs and organize cooling centers or wellness checks during heat waves.

Interviews

The first interview was with a pastor of a neighborhood church that runs a weekly food pantry. He described the pantry's lines growing over the past two years and said many clients have diabetes but "we give out what we're given, and that's mostly boxes and cans." He sees the church as a place people trust and would welcome health screenings.

The second was with a barber whose shop has served the area for two decades. He said high blood pressure is "in every family" among his customers and that many men avoid doctors until something goes wrong. He offered to put health information on his shop's bulletin board and said he would host a blood pressure check on a Saturday if a nurse would come.

The third was with a retired schoolteacher who lives alone. She named the hills and the distance to the grocery store as her biggest problems since she stopped driving, and she worries about her neighbors in summer heat. "We look out for each other," she said, "but some folks don't have anybody."

Synthesis

Three kinds of evidence point to the same two problems. Food insecurity with diet-related chronic disease appears in the data, in the stores I observed and in the pastor's account. Limited mobility and isolation of older adults appear in the transportation data, the hills I walked and the retired teacher's words. When data, observation and residents' own words agree, the community has told the nurse where to start. Part 3 will turn these into community diagnoses. Maurer and Smith (2013) describe environmental and social conditions as part of a community's health because they shape illness long before people reach a clinic, and both problems identified here fit that description: neither can be solved in an exam room, and both call for partnerships with churches, transit and neighbors.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). PLACES: Local data for better health, county data 2025 release [Data set]. https://data.cdc.gov/d/swc5-untb

Lee, J., & Hu, M. (2024). Effect of environmental and socioeconomic factors on increased early childhood blood lead levels: A case study in Chicago. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(4), 383. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21040383

Maurer, F. A., & Smith, C. M. (2013). Community/public health nursing practice: Health for families and populations (5th ed.). Elsevier Saunders.