1. Which of the following would be the best way to determine the health of a community?
a. Ask a firefighter which neighborhoods have the fewest fires.
b. Ask a realtor which neighborhoods have the most expensive houses.
c. Ask people living in the neighborhood if they are happy with where they live.
d. Ask the police department which neighborhoods have the lowest crime rates.
A healthy community is one in which residents are happy with their choice of location and
exhibit characteristics that would draw others to the location. Thus, the best way to determine
the health of the community is to talk to those living in it.
2. Which of the following characteristics would be most indicative of a healthy community?
a. Excellent private schools and superb fire and police systems
b. A United Way that receives large donations each year
c. An extensive array of services offered by private physicians
d. Clean air and water and a sense of community cohesion
Although all items sound positive, a sense of community cohesion in a safe community (clean
air and water) would be most helpful to its residents.
3. A nurse was assessing the neighborhood near the health agency. The nurse drove around
observing the condition of the buildings, sidewalks, and the people in the community. Which
of the following best describes the actions of the nurse?
a. A drive-through
b. A neighborhood observation
c. A quick overview
d. A windshield survey
A walk- or drive-through is frequently referred to as a windshield survey. This is one way that
the nurse can get a feel for the community that cannot be obtained from just reading about it.
4. Which of the following would be the best definition of a community?
a. People with open boundaries living in a particular area
b. People gathered together to solve a particular problem
c. People with a sense of belonging or common identity
d. People with at least one common demographic characteristic
In this text, community is defined as an open social system that is characterized by people in a
place who have common goals over time. The sense of belonging or common identity is true
both of geopolitical and of phenomenologic communities. A population is defined as a
collection of individuals who share common characteristics.
5. Which of the following is an essential characteristic of a community?
a. A geographic area with defined boundaries
b. A particular place over time for common purposes
c. A place and beliefs or value systems
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, NR 443 COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
d. A place or common demographic characteristics
The three common factors that constitute a community are people, place, and social
interaction or common goals.
6. Which of the following is an example of a phenomenologic community?
a. The employees of Delco Manufacturing
b. The Miami Valley region
c. The village of Yellow Springs
d. The United States Census Bureau census tract #1017
All of the options are examples of geopolitical communities except the staff of a company,
which is a phenomenologic community or a community based on relationships, not geopolitical
boundaries.
7. Which of the following best describes a group?
a. Those who are all living in the same geopolitical area
b. Those who are all members of the same phenomenologic community
c. Those who engage in repeated face-to-face communication
d. Those who respect each other’s perspective
A group consists of two or more people engaged in an interdependent relationship that
includes repeated face-to-face communication.
8. When community/public health personnel speak of a community of solution, to what are
they referring?
a. A community that has resolved its major problems at least temporarily
b. The area in which some problems are approached on a wider regional basis
c. The fact that communities have to solve their own problems
d. The reality that some problems have to be approached on a federal basis
A community of solution refers to the boundaries within which a problem can be identified,
addressed, and solved. Such problems are often beyond one communities’ boundary but affect
several communities, which must work together to resolve the problem.
9. When a community is assessed from a developmental framework, which data must be
determined?
a. The demographics (such as age) of the persons living in the community
b. The emotional maturity of the community’s residents
c. The history of the community
d. The number and quality of daycare centers and schools
Although all the listed options may be helpful information, the development of a community
would most easily be observed in its history. A developmental framework explores the history
of a community to determine change and trends. Identifying trends in health status over time
helps clarify health outcomes.
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