Running Head: Randolph County Community Health Assessment

Randolph County 1

Randolph County (315.03): Community Health Assessment

Breana Floyd, Haley Love, Krishnaveni Balakrishnan, and Tayla Ford

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

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Community Health Assessment: Census Tract (315.03)

Appendix A: Community Health Assessment Process

Several different methods were used to collect primary data for this community health

assessment. A windshield tour of Census tract 315.03 was first conducted. Observational data

and field notes were hand recorded as we observed the physical condition and resources of the

community. Other types of primary data consisted of in-person interviews. We conducted

interviews with several different resident community members and community leaders of

Randolph County. It is important that both formal and informal leaders are used as participants in

this process because it helps you see who the major influences in a community are and how they

serve as a voice or advocate for the community. The knowledge that is gained by engaging with

community members and leaders really opens your eyes to the culture of the neighborhood and

its residents. When looking for people to interview, it was necessary to find those that actually

lived in the areas that we visited to ensure that the data provided is sufficient and comes from a

credible source that really knows the community and how it operates on a daily basis. For each

interview conducted, we introduced ourselves as either the interviewer or note taker, if present.

The introduction included our names, followed by a formal handshake, a brief description of why

we were there, the purpose of the questions that we would be asking, and explained how the

recorded information is used for educational value.

Secondary data was collected by gathering information from studies that were previously

conducted on Randolph County. Analysis for this report also includes statistical findings on a

state level as well as peer counties to help compare health concerns of different regions.
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Appendix B: Map

Appendix C: Description of the Community

The city of Archdale in Randolph County is home to a small population of people. There

are many fast-food restaurants and gas stations for the traveler who is just passing through. The

community in tract 315.03 is a small town located in the heart of Archdale, with a population of

3,011 people. You are never far from a church home; Ashland Street Baptist Church and Church

of the Nazarene are about 5 minutes away from each other. If you moved to Julian Avenue, you

might live next door to someone who has lived on that very street their entire life, or you could

move further down on Ashland Street where newcomers into the community have made their
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home. However, you don’t see as many people out and about on Ashland Street, Barrett Drive or

Balfour Drive, which might be due to new community members and their lack of relationships

with one another. There are also diverse socioeconomic needs of the community tract. On Julian

Avenue, the streets are in need of repair and the houses are old, worn-down and some are in need

of repair. The grass on people's front lawns is allowed to grow high and some lawns are littered

with old furniture and various pieces of garbage. However, on Ashland Street, houses appear less

worn-down, decorated and possibly newer. Lawns are cut very low and there is virtually no trash

in sight.

One of the gifts of this community is that individuals of varying economic status,

academic level and sometimes cultural background, are able to live together in the same

neighborhood without much conflict. The stark differences in community quality and attitudes is

probably due to its socioeconomic diversity. Although Randolph County appears to have ample

resources, there must not be equal access in obtaining these resources and it is affecting the

community. The High Point bus route is the only bus that individuals in this community have

access to and there are no bus stops near this community tract. While garbage remains piled up

on the streets of lower Julian Avenue, higher Julian Avenue must receive more frequent visits

from the sanitation department because they do not have an abundance of trash on their streets.

The proximity of Randolph County’s resources, such as the police department, elementary

school, library, drug rehabilitation services and healthcare services are fairly close if you have a

car. Although most houses in this community tract seem to have at least one car in the driveway,

that does not mean someone in that household does not also rely on public transportation.
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Although, residents do have the option of walking, the community’s absence of sidewalks and

lack of crosswalks makes traveling by foot very dangerous. This can especially be seen when

you have to cross over North Main Street, a very busy street that runs through the middle of

Archdale, to get to Balfour Drive, where a lot of the community’s resources are located.

Appendix D: Socio-demographic Profile

Based on the information from the socio-demographic profile, the ethnicity of the

majority of the individuals in Census tract 315.03 and in Randolph County are White. The age of

most people within this community is between 40 and 59 years old, followed by the age group of

25 to 39 years old. Another interesting aspect of this profile is that about half of the community

members that reside in Census tract 315.03 rent homes, while the majority of individuals in

North Carolina own homes. For individuals between 25 and 34 years old, about 17% have a

Bachelor’s Degree or higher, which is the highest percentage of any other age group in the city

of Archdale. Another socio-demographic factor was the unemployment rate for men and women

in Randolph County, which is equal to the total unemployment rate for men and women in North

Carolina. Due to the importance of education in maintaining a safe and healthy society, as well

as an informed workforce, the aspects of educational attainment and employment will be detailed

in the following paragraphs.

Educational Attainment

The information provided in Table 4, represents the number and percentage of residents

at the local, county, and state level of North Carolina in relationship to age groups and

educational attainment. According to the Census Bureau, the age group 18 to 24 years in
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Randolph County (19.8%), did not obtain a high school diploma. In comparison, Archdale

superseded North Carolina (16.10%) as a whole with a 12.5% rate. Oddly, studies show that

Wake County (15.0%) had a much higher percentage in bachelor’s degrees than neighboring

county Randolph (4.8%) between year 2010-2014. Randolph County continued to decrease in

educational attainment. The table indicates that 35% of population received their high school

diploma and only 20% pursued some college but did not complete college in order to receive a

higher degree. Education plays a major role in both employment opportunities and income. In

most cases, those with higher levels of education are able to gain a sufficient amount of income

to afford basic healthcare needs.

Table 1.

Source: United States

Census Bureau
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Employment and Unemployment

The following tables compare employment/unemployment rates and gender for the

following locations: Archdale, Randolph County, Wake County, and North Carolina. After doing

intense searching for information on census tract 315.03, there was no specific data that could be

found on employment. Therefore, for the purpose of comparing numbers, data on the entire city

of Archdale was used in this summary. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of

Archdale in 2014 had an employment rate of 80.9% for males and 69.4% for females. These

rates were similar for Wake County, with 82.2% for males and 70.7% for females. Archdale had

a higher employment rate than its home county of Randolph, whose rates were 72.9% and 64.5%

respectively. The overall employment rates for the state of North Carolina were also somewhat

lower, with 71.0% for males and 64.7% for females. Regarding unemployment, Archdale had the

lowest rate of 6.0% for males, while Wake was not too far behind with 6.4%. Females had a high

rate of unemployment in Archdale at 9.5%, which is close to North Carolina’s rate at 9.7%. In

relating this information to public health, there can be difficulty accessing healthcare due to the

prevalence of unemployment in these areas. This can include basic doctor visits, prenatal care,

and oral care, for example. Unemployment rates can have a negative impact on the health of the

individuals in Randolph County, which can be seen in the high rates of obesity in the Randolph

County Community Health Assessment.

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Table 2.

Source: United States Census Bureau

Table 3.

Source: United States Census Bureau

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Appendix E: Health Profile

The Randolph County health profile indicates a comparison of health statistics between

Randolph County, Wake County, and North Carolina. The profile includes four major categories

including: Leading Causes of Mortality, Birth Statistics, Cancer Incidence Rates, and Health

Indicators. Two of the greatest causes of mortality are heart disease and cancer. Mortality caused

by heart disease accounts for 184.4 deaths per 100,00 population thus it is the leading cause of

death (North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, 2011-2015). Cardiovascular Disease and

Diabetes are the two major health indicators mentioned within the Randolph County health

Profile. Cardiovascular Disease is the number 2 cause of death in randolph county (Randolph

County Community Health Assessment). Diabetes accounts for a rate of 23.1 per 100,000

persons in Randolph County (cdc.gov). Birth Statistics is specifically referring to rates of Low

Birthweight Births. Cancer Incidence Rates includes: Colon, Lung, Female Breast, and Prostate.

Birth Statistics and Cancer Incidence Rates are two of many vital topics of the Randolph County

health statistics in which will be discussed in further details in the following paragraphs.

Birth Statistics: Rates of Low Birthweight

Low birth weight is the percentage of live births with newborns weighing less than 2500

grams. Thus, live births with babies weighing 5 lbs. and 8 oz. or less are considered low birth

weight babies (County Health Rankings 2016). The total number of low birth weight babies born

(expressed as number of live births) in Randolph County, North Carolina is 967. The rate for low
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birthweight (expressed as percentage of live births) in Randolph County is 8%. The total number

of low birth weight babies born (expressed as number of live births) in Wake County, North

Carolina is 7,132. The rate for low birthweight (expressed as percentage of live births) in Wake

County is 8%. The total number of low birth weight babies born (expressed as number of live

births) in the state of North Carolina is 10,509. The rate for low birthweight (expressed as

percentage of live births) in the state of North Carolina is 9%.

Table 4.

Source: County Health Rankings, 2016

(Low Birthweight rate is calculated as the ratio of low birthweight births to total births).

Cancer Incidence Rates

In Randolph County, the total incidence rate for all cancer types is 537.2 per 100,000

population, (North Carolina Central Cancer Registry, 2015). According to the same source,

female breast cancer has the highest incidence rate (156.1 per 100,000 population) and

lung/bronchus cancer had the highest number of cases (737) out of female breast cancer,
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colon/rectum cancer and prostate cancer, (2015). Wake County, in comparison, has a total rate of

471.2 per 100,000 population for incidence rates of all cancer types, (North Carolina Central

Cancer Registry, 2015). The cancer type with the highest rate of incidence in Wake County is

female breast cancer, with the highest number of cases (3,991) also falling

in this type of cancer. Randolph County’s incidence rate for all cancer types is higher than the

incidence rate of North Carolina, which is 483.4 per 100,000 population, (North Carolina Central

Cancer Registry, 2015). The type of cancer with the highest incident rate in North Carolina is

female breast cancer (157.9 per 100,000 population). Female breast cancer also represents the

cancer with the highest number of cases in the state (45,146) in comparison to colon/rectum

cancer, lung/bronchus cancer and prostate cancer, (North Carolina Central Cancer Registry,

2015).

Table 5.

Source: North Carolina Central Cancer Registry, 2015

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The process of collecting data for this health assessment was described in Appendix A.

One area of significance during this portion of the assessment, was identifying which individuals

were from the city of Archdale during the interviewing process. Though the group met with

several potential candidates, it soon became apparent, sometimes mid-interview, that the

interviewee wasn’t even from Archdale. This occurred during a few of the interviews. While

speaking with the interviewee, it was revealed that they were not from Archdale. They did,

however, serve on the board at the Chamber of Commerce in Archdale, and so they were aware

of the issues that the town faced.

Appendix B. included a visual of census tract 315.03, and the city of Archdale was

depicted in a Google map. It was interesting to see a pictorial view of the community that we

interviewed. In Appendix C., the community was described, with information on what was seen

during windshield tours and interviews. Something that stood out in this section was how all

members of the county, despite differences in economic status, and culture, were still able to live

in harmony.

Appendix D. discussed the majority population in Archdale. Going out into this

community, and from secondary research that was conducted, it was determined that the majority

population was white. This became apparent, as interviews were conducted and the community

was explored.

Randolph county, as a whole, had lower rates of individuals having a bachelor’s degree,

at 4.8%. Table 1 compared these statistics to peer county Wake, Archdale, and North Carolina.
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Regarding employment, males had a higher rate than females with a 11.5% difference between

the two groups. Males employment rate came out to 80.9%, while females equaled 69.4%. These

rates were consistent compared to Archdale, Wake county, and North Carolina statistics.

Health issues were discussed and compared to national statistics in Appendix E. Heart

disease, and diabetes are the top two killers in Randolph county. This is similar to state and

national statistics.
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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Diabetic deaths. Retrieved from

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/CommunityHealth/profile/currentprofile/NC/Randolph/50011

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Diabetic deaths. Retrieved from

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/CommunityHealth/profile/currentprofile/NC/Wake/50011

Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Stats of the state of North Carolina. 2016. Retrieved

from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/northcarolina.htm

County Health Rankings. (2016). North carolina health outcome [Data file]. Retrieved from

http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-carolina/2016/measure/outcomes/37/data

Vital Statistics. (2014). State center for health statistics [Data file]. Retrieved from

http://www.schs.state.nc.us/data/vital/volume1/2013/Vol1_2013_PRT.pdf