Nur 405 Healthy Communitites Windshield Reflection

Windshield Survey Reflection Jessica O. NUR/405 Healthy Communities: Theory and Practice March 28th, 2016 Cynthia Januale Community can be defined in many ways. According to Meriam Webster (n.d), there are 12 different ways that community can be defined. Community can best be defined as â€Å"a group of people who live in the same area (such as a city, town, or neighborhood)† (Community, n.d). To most people, community is the area and people that surround the place they live and/or work. Community health is defined by Stanhope and Lancaster (2014) as â€Å"the meeting of collective needs through identification of problems and management of behaviors within the community itself and between the community and the larger society.† Community as†¦show more content†¦Being stuck inside a home all winter with lack of activity and social interaction can actually be detrimental to people’s health, especially vulnerable populations such as senior citizens. The citizens are also able to freely get outdoors and get exercise due to the safety and security of the city. Not only is it a lo w crime city, but the city has made many trails and bike lanes throughout the city to enable its’ citizens to enjoy all the beauty the city has to offer. Another aspect of the city that can affect residents’ health is the fact that it is the base of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. This can cause an increase in smog conditions because the smog tends to stack up against the mountains when there is not enough of an off-shore flow of wind to remove the smog. This can affect allergies, asthma and can also cause other respiratory problems. Nutrition, physical activity and obesity is one of the Healthy People 2020 leading health indicators that is relevant to the community. As previously mentioned the city of La Verne offers a wide variety of exercise and outdoor activity opportunities such as community exercise classes, bike lanes and walking trails, as well as a safe environment for its’ citizens to be able to exercise outdoors. It also has gyms such as LA Fitness that provide an indoor workout area for its’ citizens. The city has many grocery stores with fresh produce as well as a fruit stand