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Vulnerable Population Assessment in Miami, Florida
The community under analysis is Miami, Florida, mainly its northern districts. It is a big community that has been always attractive to tourists. The population is commonly friendly and communicative. The community is multi-national, but it is characterized by a low rate of conflicts. The population is mainly young and looks healthy. Still, some vulnerable population groups need specific care and should be taken into account by the community nurses. For Miami, obese middle-aged people make a vulnerable population. Hence, the purpose of this assessment is to study the community in the context of the vulnerable population problem, provide strengths, risk factors, and barriers, as well as community resources necessary for managing the problem.
Vulnerable Population Overview
As it was previously defined, the vulnerable population in Miami, Florida, comprises obese middle-aged people. Their problem is mainly caused by poor nutrition habits and high consumption of fast-food. Despite much attention given to this problem in the community and governmental support of anti-obesity programs, the overweight and obesity rate is high. Thus, in Miami-Dade County as a whole, the rate of adult obesity and overweight is 67.4% (CDC, 2013).
Many factors contribute to obesity development. Some of them include community environment, the behavior of individuals, or diseases (CDC, 2017). Observation of the community revealed that middle-aged people tend to have poor nutrition habits and consume too much fast-food including soft drinks. This habit is directly related to the problem of obesity, which is made worse by the low activity rates of the adult population. For example, almost a quarter of adults in Miami report not having any physical activity within the last 30 days (CDC, 2013). Consequently, a high-calorie diet of fast-food and the lack of physical activity result in the increased obesity rates among middle-aged community members.
Strengths, Risk Factors, and Barriers
The community of Miami has strengths and risk factors related to the problem of adult obesity. Thus, one of the strengths is public and government interest in training health professionals competent in obesity issues (CDC, 2013). However, major attention is given to childhood obesity, and adults have less support. Another strength of the community is its location. The area and its climate are favorable for an active lifestyle. Still, there are also risk factors such as the availability of fast-food and quick-service restaurants. It is partially caused by orientation on tourists and guests of the community who need places to have dinner. However, the local population is also frequent visitors to such restaurants.
Jiao, Moudon, Kim, Hurvitz, and Drewnowski (2015) investigate health implications for adult people who have fast-food and quick-service restaurants in the neighborhood. The research revealed that a quarter of respondents living near such restaurants used their service at least two times a week (Jiao et al., 2015). Almost three-thirds of respondents reported using fast-food or quick-delivery services less than two times a week.
The percentage of those who did not use any of the mentioned services was not significant. 56% of the participants were overweight and 21% were obese (Jiao et al., 2015). 10% reported being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and 9% had diabetes. Therefore, the researchers conclude that living near fast-food or quick-delivery restaurants and using their service harms the health of the community members.
Community Resources
The community of Miami provides certain resources to fight the problem of adult obesity. The focus is on its prevention; thus, the community takes efforts to eliminate childhood obesity creating healthier lifestyles that are expected to result in healthier generations. For example, the schools in Miami are equipped with vending machines suggesting healthy foods (CDC, 2013). The community provides space for activities and sports both for adults and children. For example, Miami-Dade County supports the development of parks and recreational spaces as well as street planning to provide access to all facilities including fitness centers or swimming-pools to every citizen.
Community Health Problem Diagnosis
The priority community health problem is the obesity of middle-aged adults. It is related to a Healthy People 2020 topic of nutrition and weight status. The objective applicable to this problem is NSW-8: Increase the proportion of adults who are at a healthy weight (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). The problem needs to be solved because in 2005-2008, among adults aged 20 and more, only 30.8 people were at a healthy weight (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). Therefore, adult obesity should be a focus together with childhood one since it leads to other health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.
Summary
On the whole, the problem of adult obesity is a burden on American society. Still, the situation can be improved in case proper measures are taken. Communities have the power to contribute to the reduction of obese adults. First of all, they can provide opportunities for developing infrastructure including parks and recreational areas. Also, it is possible to reduce the number of fast-food restaurants, which are one more factor of obesity development. Finally, community nurses can be involved in education interventions aimed at informing community members about risks related to obesity and helping them shift to healthier lifestyles.
References
CDC. (2013). Community profile: Miami-Dade County, Florida. Web.
CDC. (2017). Adult obesity causes & consequences. Web.
Jiao, J., Moudon, A., Kim, S., Hurvitz, P., & Drewnowski, A. (2015). Health implications of adults eating at and living near fast food or quick service restaurants. Nutrition & Diabetes, 5(7), e171. Web.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Healthy People 2020: Topics and objectives. Web.
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