Running head: Martin County Community Analysis 1

Martin County Community Analysis

Kayla Cormier
University of South Florida
Running head: Martin County Community Analysis 2
Martin County is located on the east coast of Florida. t lies !ith the Atlantic "cean to its
east# $a%e "%eecho&ee to its !est# 'alm (each County to the south# and St. $ucie County to the
north. Martin County is a )*+ s,uare mile mi-ture of ur&an and rural areas. .he eastern coast is
more /o/ulated due to the desire to &e closer to the ocean# inter0coastal and ma1or high!ays. .he
middle and !estern areas are more rural !ith lots of agricultural lands. .he three ma1or
em/loyers in Martin County are Martin 2ealth Systems# .rium/h 3rou/04ought Aircraft
5ivision# and .ur&oCom&ustor .echnology 6(usiness and 5evelo/ment (oard of Martin
County# 27118. Martin 2ealth Systems /rovides the ma1ority of health care given in Martin
County.
n Martin County# the /o/ulation as of 2717 !as 19:#+1; 6United States Census (ureau#
27178. Martin County<s /ercent of families &elo! the /overty level is 17.;=# less than that of
Florida<s 1+.;=. .he /o/ulation of /eo/le older than 2* !ith a high school di/loma that reside
in Martin County is ;;.)=# greater than Florida<s ;*.+=. .he /o/ulation in Martin County older
than * that does not s/ea% >nglish is 19=# !hile the Florida /o/ulation is 2:.:= 6nde-Mundi#
27178.
Martin County finds itself &etter then the Florida rates in a ma1ority of health indicator
categories. For e-am/le# the /neumonia and influen?a mortality rate in Martin County is 9.)#
a&out half the state rate 6Florida 5e/artment of 2ealth# 27178. "ne of the reasons !hy this rate is
so lo! is &ecause the county does a good 1o& /roviding influen?a shots to the /o/ulation. n
2717# 9*= of /eo/le in Martin County received a flue shot# 17= greater than the Florida rate
6Florida 5e/artment of 2ealth# 271+8. .he /ercent of adults !ith hy/ertension in Martin County#
29.@=# lo!er than Florida 2;.2= 6Florida 5e/artment of 2ealth# 271+8. n Martin County# the
hy/ertension death rate /er 177#777 /eo/le is + 6Florida 5e/artment of 2ealth# 271+8. Also# in
Running head: Martin County Community Analysis +
277)# @;= of /eo/le !ith hy/ertension !ere ta%ing necessary measures to control their &lood
/ressure 6Florida 5e/artment of 2ealth# 271+8. .he dia&etes rate in 277@ in Martin County !as
@.+# half that of the Florida rate 6Florida 5e/artment of 2ealth# 271+8. A&out 1177 /er 177#777
/eo/le hos/itali?ed in 2711 in Martin County# had dia&etes. Also# in Martin County only @ deaths
/er 177#777 are attri&uted to dia&etes.
Ahile Martin County does fair &etter in most categories# there are some !hich could use
im/rovement. Motor vehicle mortality in Martin County is higher than that of Florida at 1;.9=
6Florida 5e/artment of 2ealth# 271+8 A&out ;:= of /eo/le said they al!ays !ear a seat&elt# &ut
less than half of /eo/le al!ays !ore a helmet !hen riding motorcycles or &icycles 6Florida
5e/artment of 2ealth# 27178. n Martin County# heat0related emergency de/artment visits rate
!as 21.)@ /er 177#777 during the summer months# elevated from the Florida rate 6Florida
5e/artment of 2ealth# 27118. (ecause of Florida<s heat# it is essential that residents are taught
/recautionary measures and signs and sym/toms of heat sic%nesses. Su&stance a&use among
adolescents in most categories of drugs# Martin County is a&ove the Florida /ercentage 6Florida
5e/artment of 2ealth# 27178. .he categories in Martin County a&ove the state /ercent are
alcohol# cigarettes# mari1uana# and /rescri/tion /ain /ills 6Florida 5e/artment of 2ealth# 27178.
.he /rimary focus of this /a/er is su&stance a&use among adolescents in Martin County.
.his issue stands out a&ove all the others &ecause the rates for all drug use is a&ove the state<s
rate and su&stance use in a develo/ing &ody can cause many side effects. .hrough research# one
of &iggest /ro&lems among adolescents in Martin County is the su&stance a&use. .hough the use
is on the decline# the /ercent of users in Martin County are a&ove that of the Florida /ercentage.
Su&stance use causes im/airment in functioning and can have severe conse,uences in a
develo/ing adolescent. .he su&stances a&used are various ty/es of drugs. .hese drugs interfere
Running head: Martin County Community Analysis 9
!ith the &rain<s normal communication system and can lead to a&normal messages &eing sent
through the net!or%. Most drugs /roduce feelings of /leasure !hich lead users to continue their
use. .he chemicals in these drugs often overstimulate do/amine /ath!ays !hich gives the sense
of /leasure from ta%ing the drugs. 2o!ever# !ith continued use andBor a&use# the normal
neurotransmitters in &rain diminish and the &rain must rely on the artificial neurotransmitter to
function 6C2# 27178.
.he 5eterminants of 2ealth Model is a frame!or% made u/ of several categories that
!or% together to /romote a health lifestyle. .he model hel/s to focus on all as/ects of a /erson.
f a /erson does not have a &alanced relationshi/ &et!een their /ersonal# social# economic# and
environmental factors the /erson<s health could &e in danger. Several factors from the
5eterminants of 2ealth Model are a//lica&le to su&stance a&use in adolescents: environment#
lifestyle# and /olicy ma%ing. .here is an association &et!een inade,uate /arenting /ractices and
the ris% of su&stance a&use in adolescents. 'oor /arental monitoring has an influence on
increased su&stance use and decreased self0disclosure in the child. Adolescents !hose /arents
struggle !ith mental illness also have a stronger association !ith drug use 6(ertrand et al.# 271+8.
.he clinical study /erformed &y 'atricia (i1tte&ier and other colleagues# focused on !hat
tem/eraments in adolescents had the most affect on the li%elihood of &ecoming a su&stance
a&user. t concluded that /eo/le !ith lo! /ositive affectivity as !ell as those !ith lo! effortful
control had the most ties to /redicting clinical su&stance use. >ffortful control is Dthe a&ility to
gain active or deli&erate control over &ehavior and emotional res/onsesE 6(i1tte&ier et al.# 27118.
'ositive affectivity is a trait that reflects the /ositive emotional res/onse# li%e cheerfulness#
enthusiasm# and energy 6Caragon et al.# 277@8. According to the study# lac%ing the a&ility to have
control over your emotions as !ell as having a decrease in emotional res/onse are leading
Running head: Martin County Community Analysis *
factors in /redicting su&stance use. .he Cational 5rug Control 'olicy evaluates drug use &ased
on self0re/orting !hich might not &e the most relia&le. Magura states that there is evidence in
!hich drug use is under0re/orted due to the social stigma andBor illegality. 2e furthers to say that
for these reasons# over0re/orting can &e a /ro&lem as !ell. .he facts a&out /eo/le using
su&stances may not &e com/letely accurate# &ut that does not mean su&stance use is any less of
an issue among today<s adolescents 6Magura# 27178.
.he /o/ulation diagnosis is ineffective co/ing related to use of su&stances to co/e !ith
life events as evidence &y elevated rates of use among adolescents 6Ac%ley# 27118. .his diagnosis
assessed the need for community interventions to /romote %no!ledge a&out drug use# minimi?e
the amount of /eo/le !ho try drugs# and get hel/ for those !ho already use.
.he goal of the /rimary level intervention is /revention of initial occurrence. .his target
grou/ is the community. .his intervention !ould include the adolescent as !ell as the caregiver.
.he intervention !ould &e delivered in a grou/ setting !ith the caregivers and adolescents in
se/arate grou/s. .he caregiver intervention !ould &e focused on /arenting &ehaviors including
monitoring &ehavior and im/roved communication# !hile the adolescent /art !ould focus on at
ris% &ehaviors# /ersonal a!areness# and s%ill &uilding activities. (oth grou/s !ould incor/orate
discussions to hel/ the grou/ mem&ers learn from each other. .he community health nurse !ould
run the sessions and /rovide additional assistance if needed. .he nurse !ould &e a&le to assess
the readiness to learn of individuals and tailor the teaching as necessary. deally# the meetings
!ould &e held every cou/le !ee%s to hel/ &uild on the /revious lesson and assess ho! !ell the
/artici/ants are co/ing. f scheduled meetings !eren<t /ossi&le# it !ould &e &eneficial for the
nurse to follo! u/ !ith the attendants to ma%e sure they !ere /utting the teaching to use and to
ans!er any further ,uestions 6Center for 5isease Control and 'revention# 277)8.
Running head: Martin County Community Analysis :
.he secondary level /revention early identification and treatment of disease li%e
screening /rograms. .his intervention !ould &e targeted at the individual using drugs. .he goal
of this level is to reduce and eliminate further su&stance use 6University of Minnesota# 27178.
.his /rocess !ould &egin &y detecting users through surveillance or screening. ndividuals could
&e diagnosed !ith su&stance a&use or 1ust &e recommended to a treatment center. .here are four
treatment centers in Martin County that an individual could go to 6Susse- 5irectories nc# 271+8.
>ach has /rograms in /lace to hel/ su&stance a&users recover. .his intervention is geared to!ard
community mem&ers !ho need hel/ or %no! /eo/le !ho need hel/ and health care /roviders to
refer /atients to. .he role of the community health nurse for this intervention !ould &e to assess
the need for a /atient to attend a treatment facility# to secure a /lace for them in the facility# and
to follo! u/ through their so&riety /rocess.
.he tertiary level of /revention is avoiding rela/se and maintaining so&riety after thera/y.
.his intervention is targeted at the individual !ho &een an a&user and &een through a /rogram.
.he idea is for the individual to attend meetings li%e Alcoholics Anonymous# run and attended &y
/eo/le !ho have &een through the same things. .he meetings /rovide a !ay for the individual to
relate and ho/efully learn from other mem&ers on their so&riety 1ourney. .his intervention is
geared to!ard community mem&ers and a good tool to utili?e for health care /roviders. .he
community health nurse could hel/ organi?e the meetings or 1ust /rovide information to those
!ho need it. .he nurse could also focus on incor/orating /arents into the recovery. Dt is
s/ecifically the intensity of /arental involvement in treatment# as measured &y /arental /resence#
that /ositively influences maintaining a&stinence once treatment has endedE 6(ertrand et al.#
271+8. .he more a /arent is involved could decrease the rate of rela/se.
Running head: Martin County Community Analysis )
2ealth /olicies are designed to set a standard for health care. .hey are focus /oints and
generally include areas that need im/rovement and health standards that the /u&lic should a&ide
&y. Su&stance use is a /rime e-am/le of an area for im/rovement in Martin County and
throughout Florida. .he trends in su&stance use sho! a decline over the /ast decade 6Florida
5e/artment of 2ealth# 27178. 2o!ever# there is still much room for /rogress. .he most
im/ortant /art of the /ro/osed /olicy is the /rimary /revention. Ddentifying vulnera&le
youngsters is crucial for im/roving &oth /revention and intervention# &ecause lifetime /ro&lems
!ith su&stance use often have their roots in adolescence and &ecause altering these /ro&lems
/rior to adulthood can &e more effective than interventions later in lifeE 6(i1tte&ier et al.# 27118.
.he goal is to reach out to &oth adolescents and /arents. Adolescents need teaching a&out
alternative co/ing strategies and the effects of drugs. .he /arents need teaching a&out
communication techni,ues and effective /arental /ractices. .he first ste/ to enact this /ro/osal
!ould &e to tal% to the Martin County 5e/artment of 2ealth &oard mem&ers. .hey !ill &ecome
a!are of the incidence rate of su&stance use among Martin County adolescents and the /otential
future effects. .he /lan could then &e tailored more to!ard the resources availa&le in Martin
County and /ut in a trial /hase. .he &est !ay to &etter a /olicy is through trial and error. f the
/olicy is effective for a fe! years# the county could /ro/ose the model to the Florida 5e/artment
of 2ealth. My health /olicy !ill &eing a greater focus to adolescent su&stance a&use in Martin
County.
Running head: Martin County Community Analysis ;
References
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Running head: Martin County Community Analysis @
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Running head: Martin County Community Analysis 17
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