Community Profiling As A Community Profile

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This is a community profile that aims to identify a specific health improvement issue within a local geographically determined community. ‘A community profile is an attempt to describe a particular community or neighbourhood. It uses a variety of different techniques to build up a picture of the community from a number of perspectives’ (Barnardos.org.uk, 2004) including several components of a community such as its demographic characteristics, patterns and trends i.e. its epidemiology in order to make comparisons between different localities to determine areas needful of specific health improvements with the goal of improving local people’s health and reducing health inequalities. A core definition of community as distinguished by Macqueen and Mclellan et al (2001) is ‘a group of people with diverse characteristics who are linked by social ties, share common perspectives, and engage in joint action in geographical locations or settings’. The purpose of community profiling is to identify and understand health-related issues, inequalities and needs within a community; with the intention of determining the factors that influence people’s health and wellbeing within that given community in order to highlight gaps in provision to contribute towards making positive health improvements and improving the quality of life of the community. Community profiling as a nurse supports an insight into the population and areas of the geographical communities where nursing care is provided. It allows nurses to gain an understanding of the services provision for a particular health issue within a given community and also provides an awareness into the role and responsibilities of the nurse in facilitating access to services. The chosen geographicall... ... middle of paper ... ...ed to spend 10% or more of their income on fuel costs’ (Newcastle.gov.uk, 2014). Statistics illustrate that 31.4% of children aged 0-16years are living in poverty in Newcastle, this is also more than the England average of 21% (Newcastle.gov.uk, 2014). Living in poverty and fuel poverty can relate to poor quality housing which can negatively ‘impact on wellbeing, physical and social development including school attendance, education and training, teenage pregnancy and crime (Newcastle LA Profile, 2013). The health of the population in Newcastle upon Tyne is wide-ranging in comparison with the England average; however life expectancy for both men and women in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne is lower than the England average, with women living on average 1.3 years less than the England average and men living on average 2.1 years less than the England average (Apho.org.uk, 2013).

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