Running head: WINDSHIELD SURVEY

Windshield Survey
Wendy Lee DeBruyn
Nursing 340

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Windshield Survey

The purpose of the windshield survey is to drive or ride through a community and get a
first hand view of the community (Harkness, 2012, p. 180). By driving through the community
an assessment is able to be made about the condition and needs of the community from various
viewpoints of a vehicle. Different aspects of the community can be put into categories to further
aid with the value of collected data. The information could be used in aiding research for a
political campaign, an evaluation for additional community resources, or various other
community needs.
Community
A community can be defined as a group of people sharing common interests, needs,
resources, and environment; an interrelating and interacting group of people with shared needs
and interests (Harkness, 2012, p. 175). A town or city can have multiple neighborhood
communities located within it. This tends to happen in larger towns or cities with subdivision
housing. However, it appears that when a community needs to ban together this can be done no
matter how large or small it is.
An example of this is in the community of Greenville, Michigan where a fourth grade
child is battling cancer. While completing the windshield survey there was an abundance of
signs at numerous businesses that stated We Bree-lieve. The support publicized to this child
from the community is awe-inspiring. This presentation of encouragement is the community
assisting in the promotion of her spiritual health. Pulling together as one group to show this kind
of love and perseverance for a cause is the definition of community at its peak.
Community Health

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Community health refers to the health status of a defined group of people and the
actions and conditions to promote, protect, and preserve their health (McKenzie, Pinger, &
Kotecki, 2011, p. 7). The community health of Greenville could be affected due to the lack of
transportation for community members that do not have a vehicle. This is because there is not a
taxi service and the public transit bus runs very limited hours. If a community member needs to
get to a doctors appointment at a certain time it may not be possible if the transit is not running
at that time. This has a domino effect on the community. The member may have to rely on the
local emergency department for routine healthcare needs. This is a not an appropriate use of the
emergency room services. When this happens it creates a back log of patients that should be
taken care of by their primary care physician (PCP). A need to fix this is a necessity for the
community in order to preserve its health.
The lack of diversity in the community of Greenville may eventually lead to a healthcare
provider shortage. As the local PCPs age the community will need new physicians to replace
them. The primarily Caucasian community may deter a physician of another ethnicity from
entering into practice in the community. This may eventually lead to a lack of adequate
physician coverage affecting the communitys ability to have access to healthcare.
Easy access to media and the widespread use of internet in communities is contributing to
the increase of obesity. With the rise of obesity among American children the community of
Greenville needs to be aware that its children are at risk. Making sure that there is availability of
activities where children and families are able to be active is a need in the community. The
options in the community are very limited during the winter months as the parks, bike trail, and
Danish Kingdom are covered in snow. Having a location that can promote, preserve, and protect

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the active lifestyle of its community members is a grave need in Greenville. The community
center has limited offerings for families to stay active during these months.
Another aspect identified in the community of Greenville that could affect health is the
lack of an afterhours clinic. This puts the community members at risk of not seeking medical
attention in a timely matter. They may feel that the medical condition does not warrant a trip to
the local emergency room, but could be exacerbated by delay of treatment. An example of this
would be a urinary tract infection (UTI) that was left untreated over the weekend due to the
PCPs office being closed and no after hours clinic available. By Monday morning the
community member could have life threatening complications, thus having the need for more
extensive medical treatment.
Community as Client
Community as client is defined as nursing professional working with community
members, families, groups, and individuals to help design and initiate change that benefits the
community as a whole (McKenzie et al., 2011, p. 7). An example of this would be expanding
hospital services offered locally. Such as adding cardiovascular services at the local hospital that
in the past was only available in sixty miles away in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicator
According to the Healthy People 2020 list of indicators nutrition, physical activity, and
obesity are of concern to the nations overall health. Living in Greenville, Michigan can
contribute to this indicator in a negative fashion due to the weather being uncooperative with
outdoor activities to promote an active lifestyle. As a nurse in the community it is important to
come up with ways for the community to become active even during the winter months. A way
to do this could be to collaborate with the school system to open up the school after hours and on

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weekends to be able to use the gym and hallways. Having access to the gym would allow for
community members to play volleyball, utilize the upstairs loft for batting practice, basketball,
and even the ability to throw around a football if wanted. Having the schools open would allow
community members to walk the hallways in the same fashion that they would walk the track
outside. The nurse in the community could also set up a health fair at the community center to
educate community members on healthy body mass indexs (BMI), healthy nutrition and meal
options. Having adequate reliable information on lifestyle changes can encourage the
community as a whole to push forward for change among all of its members. Reevaluation of
the education will need to be done by the nurse to ensure that progress in the correction direction
is occurring. If it is not going positively then a reassessment of the community may need to be
performed by the community nurse.
Conclusion
Compiling the data collected into the graph for analysis was adequate to complete the
windshield survey paper. However, this windshield survey would have been more beneficial to
get a more accurate community assessment had the weather been more permitting. Multiple
attempts were made on different days and times to get a clearer picture of the community without
success. The hardest areas to assess were signs of decay, street people, and commons. This is
because of it being an exceptionally hard winter when compared to recent ones. The
overwhelming amount of snow on the ground was skewing data in these areas, as all that could
be seen was a white blanket of snow. Performing another windshield survey when the weather is
permitting would be a benefit in order to get a true picture of the possible needs and available
resources in the Greenville community. Overall being able to make a subjective assessment
from a vehicle was well worth the time and effort that it took.

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References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual. (6th ed.). Washington, DC:
Author.
Dodd, F. (2014) NURS 340 Class Syllabus, Big Rapids, MI. Ferris State University.
Harkness, G. A. (2012). Community and Public Health Nursing: Evidence for Practice (pp. 175191). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
McKenzie, J., Pinger, R., & Kotecki, J. E. (2011). An introduction to community health. Jones &
Bartlett Publishers.
People, H., & US Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). Healthy People 2020.

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Neighborhood Boundaries- City limits Greenville, Bass Lake area, Greenville, Michigan
Housing and zoning
There is a wide
variety of age in the
homes. Some homes
are very old, but have
been restored or
updated. There are a
variety of sizes in the
homes. Some are
single story and others
are multiple stories.
There are very small
to very large sized
homes. Some are
well taken care of
while others appear
abandoned and left in
despair. In the older
appearing
neighborhoods the
homes have been
restored to bright
vibrant colonel colors.
The newer homes
have neutral colored
vinyl siding. All of
the homes have
indoor plumbing and
heat. The heating
sources seem to vary
depending on the
homes location.
Some homes have
propane pigs located
outside in the yards
while others have
wood stoves outside
and yet others have no
outward sign of a
heating source leaving
one to conclude that
they have natural gas.
Yard sizes seem to
vary depending on

Transportation
There is lack of
adequate public
transportation
available. There are
not any taxis
available. The transit
bus have very limited
hours. Services are
available from 7 a.m.
until 7 p.m. and are
limited even more on
the weekends with
hours being from 9
a.m. until 5 p.m. on
Saturday and 10 a.m.
until 3 p.m. on
Sunday. People who
utilize this service
tend to have long
waits from one
destination to another.
They also have to call
the dispatch number
at each destination to
get to another one.
There are not any
scheduled pick up and
drop off spots. The
limitations of
transportation make it
difficult for
community members
to get to doctor
appointments, the
grocery store, the
pharmacy, hospital or
basically anywhere
they need to go for
basic needs or wants.
This does inhibit
access to healthcare
for many in the
community. There is

Race and ethnicity

This community is
lacking in diversity of
race. It is made up of
primarily Caucasians.
There are very few
minorities. This is
usually when harvest
season is in full
swing. Otherwise
there is a hand full of
African-Americans,
Hispanic, or other
races. The lack of
exposure to diversity
can cause problems
later in life for our
youth as they may
have biases from lack
of exposure. This
may also affect future
healthcare in the
community as new
physicians or
healthcare staff may
be uncomfortable in
coming to the area to
practice due to the
lack of ethnicity in the
community.

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where the house is
located. Some have
very large lots and
others have no side
yard to speak of. The
smaller homes tend to
be close together
while the larger ones
are more spread out
having smaller front
yards compared to the
back yards. There are
also farm houses that
have many acres of
land with them
outside of the city
limits.
Open space
Open fields that are
utilized for farm land
and animal pasture.
Houses vary in size
from very small to
very large. There is
an open space in town
that is utilized with a
bench for anyone who
wants to sit and watch
the fountain. Open
area in the parking lot
of the old Meijer
building on M-91.
Vacant during the
winter but utilized for
flea market in the
non-snow months.

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a bike trail, but this is
limited to seasons
without snow
otherwise the trail is
impassable for travel.
People are able to
walk when weather
permits. There are
cars, trucks, and
SUVs that utilize the
roads. There is one
main road with many
side roads. The
closest major highway
is 20 miles away.

Service centers
There is not a service
center exactly;
however there is a
chamber of
commerce. A large
recreation area known
as the Danish
Kingdom. The
downfall to this is that
many months out of
the year the
playground is not able
to be used because of
the weather. This
may affect overall
community health
because it can limit
physical activity
opportunities. Being
sedentary can lead to
obesity.

Religion and politics

No visible signs of
politics being
displayed during
windshield survey.
There are numerous
churches in the
community. Some of
the denominations
include Baptist,
Christian Reformed,
Catholic, Church of
Latter Day Saints, and
there are a couple of
non-denominational
churches. The large
community church
holds a teen group on
Tuesday nights.
Other than this most
activity seen at the
churches is on Sunday
mornings.
Boundaries
Stores and street
Health and morbidity
Signs that state you
people
There are signs of
are entering or leaving A variety of stores are disease present in the
the city limits are
available. From large community. An
displayed as you
superstores to party
abundant amount of
come into town from
stores to old fashioned businesses are putting

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the north, south, east,
and west via the two
major roads that
intersect in the middle
of town. Greenville is
made of many smaller
subdivisions. Each of
these has names that
are displayed as you
enter the main
entrance to them.
There is a lot of snow
banks everywhere so
it is hard to address
anything else that may
otherwise be
identified as a
boundary.

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variety stores to paint
stores to local ACE
hardware store to
Dollar stores and
department stores
such as J C Penny to
specialty one of a kind
stores like Posh Vega.
As far as people on
the street goes there
were a few students
walking after school
and one person
walking on the side
walk however it was
very cold, snowy and
icy all three times that
I drove around for the
windshield survey.

Bree-lieve signs up in
support of a local
child that is fighting
cancer. Obesity
seems to be on the
rise. There are many
type 1 diabetic
children at the local
schools. They are
managed by the
school nurse. She
also manages the
asthmatic children. It
is only a few blocks
from down town to
the nearest hospital.
There are many
doctors and dental
offices located in
town. There is a drug
rehab outreach
program located just
outside the city limits
according to the sign
out by the road in
front of the facility.
There is a medical
durable equipment
supply store located in
town. Having the
local hospital close to
town is a benefit for
the community as
they have access to
medical care 24/7, the
downfall is that there
is not reasonable
priced after hours as
there is not an urgent
care clinic in the area.
This poses potential
complications as some
may wait to seek
medical care due to
the inability of
affording appropriate

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Commons
The bowling alley,
local restaurants,
Eagles, and the
American Legion are
common places for
the community to
gather. Most of the
areas are open to
strangers. Things that
may prevent strangers
from entering are that
the Eagles and the
American Legion
require a member to
accompany nonmembers. The
community center in
town offers a variety
of community events
and organized sports

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Signs of decay
After losing two large
factories over the last
few years the
community seems to
be holding its own.
There are a few
homes with for sale
signs in from of them,
minimal vacant
properties in the old
main street district,
but considering the hit
to the economy the
community seems to
be sustaining itself.
There have been a
couple of new smaller
restaurants open up
and have been doing
well overall. The
community is free
from large areas of
debris lying around;
again it is hard to get
an accurate picture of
this as there is a large
amount of snow
covering everywhere.

care.
Media
In todays society the
internet is the biggest
media source. In the
super stores there a
numerous titles of
magazines. Some
include Womens
World, Seventeen,
Sports Illustrated, and
Time. The local
newspaper is The
Daily News. It is
available online and
hard copy. It is
available at most local
stores for purchase.
No visible antennas,
cable is available.
There are some
satellite dishes on
house roofs and in
yards. The easy
access to this type of
activity is alarming to
healthcare
professionals as it
promotes sedentary
lifestyles leading to
obesity, hypertension,
and other chronic
illnesses.