Columbia Southern University Community Health of Maryland Community Paper

For this assignment, you will utilize information and research from the assignments in previous units to create a concept paper on the community health of the community you have chosen. You will incorporate your opinions and perspectives, supported by research and data you discovered in your previous assignments. Your concept paper should contain best practices, philosophies, and other related issues that you believe should be acted on in the near future for the betterment of the community. It should also illustrate the unique roles and requirements of a community health worker serving this area.

• Give an overview of your community to include any relevant population, demographic, cultural, social, or economic characteristics.
• Identify a significant determinant of health that impacts your community.
• Identify a specific public health issue that is commonly seen by a multicultural or diverse population in the community.
• Describe a local health promotion program that is failing or lacking in the community that could help meet the determinants of health needs of the diverse population in the community.
• Discuss the community health framework/model that can be applied to the health promotion program.
• Discuss a law or policy that could alleviate determinant of health issues if it were in place.
• Discuss the role a CHW would play in addressing determinants of health, multicultural or diverse populations, and health equity in the community. Columbia Southern University Community Health of Maryland Community Paper
• Identify the role a CHW can play and the collaboration needed with others in the community to effect system, environmental, and policy changes.
• Discuss the skills and traits a CHW would need to be a successful change agent in this community.
• Conclude your concept paper with recommendations and expectations of positive change in the public health of the community.

Your concept paper will be a minimum of four pages, not counting the title and reference pages. It should be logically arranged to support your analysis and offer strong arguments and evidence. You must use at least four sources (one of which must come from the CSU Online Library) to support the analysis and discussion in your concept paper. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Your concept paper, including all references, will be formatted in APA style.

Maryland Community Population and Geographic Composition

Maryland’s community comprises people from different racial groups, cultural backgrounds, and ethnicities. In Maryland, the White Non-Hispanic racial group is 49.8%, African Americans are 29.7%, Asians are 6.35%, White Hispanics are 4.71%, and the others make up 4.74% of the total population (DATAUSA, 2022). Besides racial diversity, diversity is thriving in Maryland in many other ways. Diversity is seen in the language most commonly used in the community. While most of the residents are English speakers, there are many Spanish, Chinese, and French speakers. Another aspect of diversity is settlement and development. There are metropolitans, suburban areas, and rural non-metropolis regions with different settlement patterns and levels of economic development. The rural non-metropolis regions are generally less developed, such as the inner parts of Baltimore occupied by relatively poor residents (DiLisio, 20119). Diversity is also reflected in how the people in this community get employment opportunities and access to economic empowerment programs. On the other hand, culture is also diverse, with each racial group maintaining a particular culture. For instance, the White Non-Hispanic group tends to live in Carroll and Garrett counties, while the African Americans are concentrated in Prince George’s county. In these regions where they live, they maintain their unique cultures. As a result, these cultural differences make Maryland a multi-cultural community like the American society. Columbia Southern University Community Health of Maryland Community Paper

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Culture and diversity have played a role in the history of the community, its development, and progression over time. Culture refers to the way of life of certain people or societies. As a result, culture influences how people relate and plan their lives. In Maryland, the rate of economic development and progression has been largely influenced by culture. Some regions like Baltimore have maintained their conservative cultural values to date. As a result, they have remained poor despite the rapid economic development in other parts of Maryland (DiLisio, 20119). Western Maryland was engaged in coal mining, which contributed to its development. Additionally, the regions occupied by the white majority residents are more developed than other regions. However, culture has also played a great role in Maryland’s uneven development and progression because it affects people’s belief systems, children’s upbringing, attitudes toward education, and understanding of their society (Collier, 2017). As a result, people with progressive cultures tend to be more developed than those with retrogressive cultures. In the case of Maryland, the regions with progressive cultures have developed over time, and the residents enjoy high living standards.

A community health worker (CHW) working in this community would need to develop cultural competence specific to this community. One way of developing cultural competence is learning about the history and culture of this community. CHWs should take time to learn about the community’s historical roots, cultural values, and belief systems. As a result, CHWs will know how to offer community health services to the community within their cultural belief systems. Additionally, CHWs can develop cultural competence by training to improve their skills and understanding of cultures. They can also develop cultural competence by interacting with the community members. Such interactions ensure that they integrate and learn the cultural preferences of each other. As a result, CHWs will better understand what the community culture entails and how they will offer healthcare services. The interaction will also help them build trust and confidence with the community because they will understand what they prefer and how to meet those needs.

Maryland’s cultural differences and diversity have led to the prevailing health inequity. However, a CHW can work toward ensuring health equity for all populations in this community. The first strategy for promoting health equity is including the social determinants of health approach. This approach entails improving the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, and age because they form the social determinants of health (Belle-Isle, Benoit & Pauly, 2014). Therefore, CHWs should aim at improving the general living conditions of the people in Maryland, regardless of their race or ethnicity. As a result, they will create favorable social determinants of health for every person, improving overall health, thus reducing inequities. They can also improve access to healthcare for the most vulnerable community members. For instance, they can offer home-based care services or take healthcare services near where the people live. This strategy will ensure equity in the access to quality healthcare services.

CHWs can also act as advocates of health equity through various activities. For instance, they can lobby the government to act as a guarantor and advocate of human rights, including the right to care. As a result, the government will be committed to providing affordable and quality care for all people because it will show their respect for human rights. Additionally, CHWs can advocate for health equity through policy intervention. In this approach, the CHWs will offer policy change proposals that support health equity and equality. They can offer proposals that obligate the government to provide equal access to quality and safe care to all community members regardless of their race or ethnicity. Finally, CHWs can work towards ensuring health equity by collecting and analyzing data on health inequities. This data will help them map out areas where health inequities and inequalities are prevalent before devising the appropriate strategies to address the issue. Working with real-time data promotes accuracy because the strategies adopted to address the situation will be appropriate in every manner.

 

References

Belle-Isle, L., Benoit, C., & Pauly, B. (2014). Addressing health inequities through social inclusion: The role of community organizations. Action research, 12(2), 177-193.

Collier, P. (2017). Culture, politics, and economic development. Annual Review of Political Science, 20, 111-125.

DATAUSA (2022). Profile and Maryland State. DATAUSA. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/maryland#:~:text=The%205%20largest%20ethnic%20groups,home%20as%20their%20primary%20language.

DiLisio, J. E. (2019). Maryland: a geography. Routledge. Columbia Southern University Community Health of Maryland Community Paper