Module 7 Discussion: Initial Post
Why I Chose the Community as Partner Model for My Community Assessment
For my community assessment I have chosen Anderson and McFarlane's Community as Partner model. The model places the community's people at the center, its core of history, demographics, values, and beliefs, and surrounds that core with eight subsystems: physical environment, education, safety and transportation, politics and government, health and social services, communication, economics, and recreation (Anderson & McFarlane, 2019). Stressors act on the community through these subsystems, and the community's lines of defense and resistance determine how well it copes, an idea the model borrows from Neuman's systems thinking (Neuman & Fawcett, 2011).
Three reasons led me to this model. First, its structure matches the data I am actually collecting. My windshield survey of a ten-block area around a public library in a small city naturally sorted into its subsystems: I saw two bus lines but no bus shelters (transportation), a closed grocery store and three dollar stores (economics and food access), a well-used park with broken lighting (recreation and safety), and a free clinic open only two evenings a week (health and social services). Having a place for each observation keeps the assessment organized and shows gaps I might otherwise miss, such as the communication subsystem, which I had not planned to assess until the model prompted me to ask where residents get local news.
Second, the model treats the community as a partner, not a subject. The core is assessed by listening to residents, and my two community interviews, with a librarian and a volunteer at the food pantry, fit that purpose. The librarian described the library as the neighborhood's unofficial cooling center in summer and its only free internet access, which changed how I understood both the recreation and communication subsystems.
Third, the model links assessment to action. Its final steps move from data to community nursing diagnoses and then to planning with the community, which suits the final paper's requirement to propose an intervention. I also plan to organize my findings using the five social determinant domains of Healthy People 2030, which cover income and work, schooling, health care, the neighborhood itself, and social ties (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d.), because the two frameworks map onto each other well and the SDOH language is what the final assignment asks for.
One limitation is that the model can produce a long inventory without a clear priority. To avoid that, I will rank my findings by how many residents they affect and whether the community itself names them as a concern. Has anyone else found a good way to decide which subsystem finding becomes the focus of the intervention?
References
Anderson, E. T., & McFarlane, J. (2019). Community as partner: Theory and practice in nursing (8th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Neuman, B., & Fawcett, J. (Eds.). (2011). The Neuman systems model (5th ed.). Pearson.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Social determinants of health. Healthy People 2030. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health
How this N 492 Module 7 example is structured
In N492 Module 7 the graded assignment is typically your project hours log, which is your own record and is never written for you, and the module's written work is a discussion asking you to identify a community health assessment model for the final project. This example is that discussion post. It names the model and its structure accurately, gives three reasons tied to the student's own survey data and interviews, connects the model to the social determinants framework the final paper uses, admits one limitation and ends with a question that invites replies. Aspen revises courses, so check your classroom for the exact prompt.
N492 Module 7 questions, answered
What does N492 Module 7 usually ask for?
The graded assignment is commonly the project hours log for the community assessment, which records your own field time and is yours to complete. The written work in the module is usually a discussion on identifying a community health assessment model to guide the final community assessment paper.
Which community assessment model should I use?
Community as Partner is widely used in nursing because its core and eight subsystems give every windshield survey observation a place. Other options include MAPP from the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Choose the one your course readings present and explain why it fits the data you are collecting.
How long should the discussion post be?
Follow your classroom's rubric, which often sets a minimum word count and a scholarly source requirement. The sample runs about 470 words with three sources, names the model precisely, applies it to real observations and ends with a question for classmates.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.