Windshield Survey

For Community Health Nurses to knowledgeably plan services for a specific community, it is essential to know the community, identify health-related resources that may be helpful to members, and learn about gaps in services. One of the ways this can be done is by conducting a windshield survey ( head –to-toe assessment) of the community itself. This involves the generation of data that helps to define the community, the trends, stability, and changes that all serve to define the health of the community (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011). This windshield survey was conducted from a car and by walking and provided a visual overview of the community of Randallstown, MD. Some areas observed were: housing, race/ethnicity, religion, transportation, service centers, parks and recreational areas, commercial activities, entertainment, information about the population, health care problems, quality of life, and the perception of the community members. In this paper, this community will be examined in great detail. Identification of needs in the community and health problems of the community will be discussed. Conditions and trends in the community that could affect the health of the population will also be discussed. Randallstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate crossroads on the Liberty Turnpike, a major east-west thoroughfare (city-data.com). Today it is a suburb of Baltimore, with a population of 32,430 as of the 2010 census. The area is bounded by roads and a railroad. In the 1990s, Randallstown transitioned to a majority African American community, and is currently notable for its broad ethnic diversity (U.S. Census Bureau). The population is composed of African Americans, White- Non Hispanics, Hispanics, Asians, American Indians, Africans, and Russians. The homes in

References: Http:// www.americantowns.com/md/Randallstown/info/quality of life. Radallstown, Maryland (MD 21133). Retrieved on January 27, 2013 from http://www.city- data. com/city/Randallstown-Maryland.html. Stanhope, Marcia & Lancaster, Jeanette. (2011). Public Health Nursing. Population-centered health care in the community. (8th Ed). Elsevier. U.S. Census Bureau. American Facts Finders. Retrieved on January27, 2013 from http://www.factfinder2.census.gov/faces. U.S Drug Trends. (2005). Retrieved on January 27, 2013 from http:// www.usdrugtrends.com /Maryland/Randallstown.