Genesee County
Genesee County is in Michigan State. It has a population of about four hundred and seven thousand persons. This is according to the census bureau information of the USA. In terms of race, 3.5 percent are Latinos, 21% are African American, and about 76 percent are white people. The data from the census bureau indicates that those who live in flint city are about ninety-six thousand approximately. However, that number shows a decrease compared to people who lived there in the 1970s. The majority of the residents in flint city are African American.
Based on the American community survey, outmigration has affected flint and Michigan County. Approximately 10 percent of homes remain empty, and 33% of premises in the flint city remains abandoned. The unemployment rate in Genesee County is decreasing. In the year 2014, it was approximately 7.7 percent. However, today it stands at 4.3 %. On the other hand, the poverty rate among the people in flint city and Genesee County has been observed to have gone down. According to bureau census data from the USA, flint city and Genesee county poverty rate was 41 percent and 23%, respectively, in the year 2014. However, the poverty rate today stands at 39 percent for flint city and 19% for Genesee County.
In terms of education, about 11 percent of students from Genesee County drop out of high school. This is in comparison with the whole of Genesee County, which has a rate of 8.6 percent. The data from the state department of education indicates that 17% of learners from community schools within flint city drop out of school. Also, a significant difference between those who attain a degree between flint and geneses county exists. The percentage of national and state degree attainment percentages is 28 percent and 30%, respectively. However, the flint rate of degree attainment is approximately 11.9 percent.
Data collection
The project will use multiple types of collecting data. Qualitative data will be obtained through the use of a questionnaire. The residents will be required to give data about health care, the environment, as well as the social-economic issues within Genesee. Interviews will be done to the health care providers and the Genesee county health department. They will also be provided with questionnaires which they will be answered and given back. At the local level, the community-based health organizations will be sampled, and questionnaires distributed to them. The literature review will be done to look at national and state data for benchmarking. The use of multiple methods will be advantageous since it will drive broad data input from various sectors and communities relating to health data and the determinants of health and needs of disadvantaged and minority groups in Genesee county.
The purpose of the assessment
The assessment is aimed at assessing the status of health among the residents of Genesee County in Michigan State. In addition, it will try the gaps that exist in maintaining community health hence inform ways and policies that can be implemented to promote a healthier community. Furthermore, the data collection tool tools have questions that address determinants that pose a risk to the health of the residents. Therefore, after data collection, the riskiest determinants of health will be identified; hence, the hospitals and the state government can prioritize addressing the issue. Furthermore, the assessment data will be shared with the healthcare providers to help them establish implementation plans through collective and individual efforts to address the community health gaps and issues that will be identified during the survey.
Determinants of health in the county
Based on Robert wood foundation observed that 80 percent of the factors that influence health outcomes mainly fall outside the traditional health care delivery. If the social health determinant needs are not satisfied, there is likely hood of the emergence of severe health problems. These health determinants are poverty, safety, food insecurity, employment, education, and housing. Based on healthy county rankings, in 2018, Genesee was ranked 27th in terms of clinical care out of 83 counties within Michigan. Besides that, a bit of higher ranking, the health outcomes found among the Genesee population was seen to be worse compared to other counties in the state. Therefore, this can be attributed to poor social, economic factors, as well as the physical environment. The county was rated number 71 and 82, respectively, in terms of social and environmental impact on the health of the residents.
Responses
From the survey, access to healthy food received the fourth highest response rate. Many residents agreed that it was among the highest concern that affects the health of the people within the county. 34% of the residents agreed it is among the top three issues that impacted the health of the Genesee county residents. Therefore, this concurs with the Genesee county Medicaid beneficiary survey that about a thousand residents were experiencing food insecurity. In addition, the report also indicated that approximately 58% of the residents had requested food assistance from the community resource.
The survey established that depression is among the most common health problem for the residents within the residents in the county. 38% of the respondents who answered the question on depression agreed that it is among the top three issues causing health challenges among the people. Generally, this is in agreement with the SDOH survey in the year 2018. It indicated that about 22 percent of the residents in Genesee County agreed to have needs related to depression. Also, the study noted that about 46% of the persons indicated to have needed depression assistance services. The number surveyed was about twelve thousand persons.
On the other hand, the Genesee county residents were skeptical about the safety of drinking water. About 52 percent of the respondents agreed that the government should focus on the provision of clean water. Clean water was among the top issues the residents identified as the concern impacting the health of the residents, with 70 percent of the respondents.
Many of the residents agreed that access to healthcare services was among the factors that promote a healthy community. This was from 59% of the respondents. In addition, 35 percent of the residents in Genesee County said that the insurance cover was beneficial. Furthermore, they noted that failure to get a timely appointment was a barrier to healthcare access. They account for 24 percent of the respondents. In addition, those who said they face challenging to access the excellent service due to work-related issue issues were about 15 percent. Transport factor was also identified as a factor that limits faster access to the healthcare facilities, with approximately 29 percent of the respondents. The survey responses also indicated that road accidents cause 28 percent of deaths reported while the other accidents account for 5 percent.
The survey also sought the view of the Genesee county residents about the things to be done by the government to avert the health issues within the county. Their responses were as follows. The majority strongly agreed that the state and county agencies should address the issue of clean water for the residents. They accounted for 55 percent. On the other hand, 15 percent of the respondents agreed that access to health care should be the main focus of the agencies. In addition, those who said that the agencies should focus on the housing problem were approximately 16 percent of the residents. Furthermore, about 13 percent believed that security within the neighborhood needed much focus from the relevance agencies.
Conclusion
Therefore, based on this assessment, there is a need for the state and county governments to give priority to clean drinking water. In addition, health service providers should focus on programs that reduce depression-like counseling. There is also a need to enhance food security among the residents of Genesee County.
References
Burris, S. (2011). From health care law to the social determinants of health: a public health law research perspective. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 159(6), 1649-1667.
Marmot, M. G., & Bell, R. G. (2011). Improving health: social determinants and personal choice. American journal of preventive medicine, 40(1), S73-S77.
Marmot, M., & Allen, J. J. (2014). Social determinants of health equity.
Wood, D. L., Hayward, R. A., Corey, C. R., Freeman, H. E., & Shapiro, M. F. (1990). Access to medical care for children and adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics, 86(5), 666-673.