Photovoice: Community Assessment Paper

Meghan Ohanian-Pearson
CSUCI-Health 102 Section Section 005
Professor Ashley Winans

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 Table of Contents:

Ventura County Beach Community Slide 3-6

Camarillo Community Slide 7-10

Ventura County Cornucopia Slide 11-13

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This photo was chosen because it represents a large part of the Ventura County. The beach has many benefits including options for exercise, yoga, relaxation, Vitamin D and spending time with others in the community to include family and

friends.

Ventura County Beach

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Ventura County Beach

Define the Community

The community is blended in class, ethnicity, age and genders. There is an even balance for the most part between all.

Describe the Local Community

Geographically, there are surrounding beach communities and urban areas, there are many accesses to resources within the community. The

average two main hospital resources are Community Memorial Health and Ventura County County Medical Center. There are about 30 different

identified stakeholders to which many are in favor of focusing on community health improvements as identified in the “Health Care Agency

Community PH Health Booklet” (Ventura County Public Health, 2020).

Political Climate: Democratic Majority

This community serves all populations and represents all ethnicities.

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Ventura County Beach

Major Health Issues:

Diet, exercise, addiction and a plethora of transient individuals mainly due to addiction and mental health concerns left untreated due to lack in healthcare

access and support services.

Healthcare Organizations:

Community Memorial Hospital and Ventura County Medical Center

Environmental Determinants of Health In The Community:

Fast Food options and occasional fires creating poor air quality

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Ventura County Beach

Recommendations For Improvement in Health Services in the Community:

More exposure and advertisement regarding available health care services to the youth in the community. Provide optional resources and bring healthcare to the

students at the school campuses coupled with the local community.

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Camarillo Community

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Camarillo Community

Define the community:

Camarillo is a quiet, agricultural, college based community including military families.

Local Context:

According to the United State Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.5 sq. miles. Camarillo is located in Pleasant Valley at the

eastern end of the Oxnard Plain.

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Camarillo Community

What populations and ethic groups are served in this community?

The 2010 US Census reports the population is 65,201. Ethnic groups include caucasian, african american, native american, asian, pacific

islander and hispanic groups. The population is spread out with the average household size being between 2-3 individuals/families.

Major Health Issues For The Community:

Camarillo residents have been known to have asthma symptoms, anemia, psoriasis, obesity, elderly individuals have high rates of

dementia and congestive heart failure.

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Camarillo Community

Health Organizations That Serve The Community:

Home Health Care, Kaiser, Skilled Nursing Facilities, Dignity Health, Hospice Care and Mental Health, to name a few.

Environmental Determinants:

Per Ventura County 2040 Health and Well Being General Plan, “adequate housing can support occupants throughout their life stages, promote health

and safety, and support mental and emotional health.” (2018)

Recommendations For Improvement In health Services:

Provide community resources for mental health, and adequate housing projects, education to youth in the community on low cost and free healthcare

resources.

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Ventura County Community Cornucopia

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Ventura County Cornucopia

Ventura Community has a mixture of ethnical groups such as white, hispanic, asian and african americans.

Ventura County Cornucopia is located in an agricultural urban area to include farming grounds. This makes the environment ideal for

crop growth due to the rich soil within its surroundings.

Major health issues within this specific community of Ventura are diabetes, cholesterol, heart disease, and hypertension.

Healthcare agencies that service the Ventura Community are:

Community Memorial Hospital, Ventura Community Medical Center, St. Johns and smaller community based corporations to provide

preventative health measure such as UCLA Health Medical Clinics.

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Ventura County Cornucopia

Environmental Determinants in this Community:

There is not enough public education on how to reduce obesity and measures to be taken on how to prepare healthier diets at an

affordable cost. This specific community is able to utilize the Cornucopia to grow organic vegetables and fruits reducing the amount of

pesticides consumed and reducing future health risks and diseases.

Recommendations for Improvement in Health Services:

Improvements in the community suggested are options for counseling and support for mental wellness. Another resource for

improvement will be to utilize The Ventura County Food Bank, and FOOD Share which provides families with healthy options. Per the

Health Ventura County website, Cal Fresh article states, “Community Market Distribution is a monthly mobile delivery service that

provides a variety of fresh produce free of charge to low income families in Ventura County”(2021). 13
References:

Community Health Improvement Plan. (n.d.). Health Care Agency. VCHA.org. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from

https://vchca.org/images/public_health/PH_Community_Health_Booklet_04-04-18.pdf.

Vcrma.org. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2021, from

https://vcrma.org/vc2040.org/images/uploads/2018/VCGPU_4-PRDBR-Health_Well-Being_January_2018.pdf.

Food assistance: Healthy Ventura County. Healthy Ventura County | Eat Smart. Move More. Live Well. (2016, June 4). Retrieved

November 21, 2021, from https://www.healthyventuracounty.org/healthy-eating/food-assistance/.

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