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Community Assessment of Charlottetown In any community, the goal of poppupultion health is focused on understanding the health of the population and investigates the social, physical, economic, and health services. This paper will provide a description and general overview of the community of Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, assess the community using the UPEI Community Population Assessment Framework, and analyze the data collected from the assessment The Community for this focus is the Community of Charlottetown , PEI. UPEI Community Population Framework The UPEI Community/Population Framework will be utilized in this paper to assess the community of Charlottetown. The UPEI framework (2002) is focused on the dimensions of the determinants of health and community. Community is defined by the framework as "a few families living in close proximity or as complex as the world community with its highly organized institutions." ( Munro, et al, 2000). Environment is an essential component to any community assessment. The PEI Conceptual Model of Nursing (2000) defines the environment as "the context, both internal and external, in which one lives, works, plays, and learns." For the purpose of this paper the community will entail the community of Charlottetown. Communications The formal communication network in Charlottetown includes the media, one of PEI's daily newspaper; The Guardian and The Buzz;a monthly paper dedicated to the arts community. There are four radio stations broadcasting from Charlottetown. Island cable vision provides cable to the entire Island. In addition, from Charlottetown the CBC station produces English and French language Broadcasts. Informal Communication networks often happen through word of mouth, bulletin boards at the Charlottetown malls and notices in the various church bulletins. Economics Employment is an essential indicator for better health. Unemployed people tend to expience more health problems that those that are employed (Health and Social Services, 2002). In 2001, the employment rate for P.E.I. was 69.3 percent for males and 55.5 percent for females; whereas the unemployment rate is 12.3 percent for males and 9.0 for females (Statistics Canada, 2001). The average employment for Charlottetown was fifthteen percent higher that hte average employment for all persons living in Canada. The average household income average for Charlottetown is 41, 944 for males and 31, 936 for females. The average income is sustaninably higher for males then females because a high percentage of women work on a pert year or part time basis. Much of the employment in the city is devrived from year round industries. Sixty five percent of the labor force was concentrated in four industrial categories; government services, retail, food and beverage, and Health and Social Services. The minimum wage in P.E.I. is six dollars and twenty five cents ( see Appendix B). Recreation Charlottetown has a diverse array of recreation programs, events, and facilities catering to all diverse interests. In the city, there are over eighty-three parks on five-hundred acres of land. These range from small play parks to two major waterfront parks. For example, Victoria Park offers waterfront board walks, walking parks, swimming pool, and three baseball diamonds. In addition, the city offers a fivety-six kilometer bicycle and walking route for nature and health. Fourteen Fitness centers, five community centers, and ten rinks exist throughout the city (see Appendix C). Several city recreation programs have been organized and open to the public at various different costs to the participatant. Such Programs include boxing clubs, Adventure Group, Curling clubs, etc. Charlottetown has rich history in historical events. To preserve this heritage, two lively theaters are open yearly; Confederation Center of the Arts and MacKenzie Theater. For more modern movies, the Empire Theater exists to provide box office movies. Education Education is an important compentant in any community development and population. Charlottetown's working population fifteen years or older (25, 650) have various education levels. Thirty-one percent have less then grade twelve, sixty nine possess a high school diploma, and sixteen percent have obtained a university degree. Compared to the province as a whole, Charlottetown has higher levels of education . Provincially five-eight percent of the population have a high school diploma or higher. Charlottetown has seven elementary schools, three intermediate schools, and to senior high schools. There are several private schools as well. UPEI and Holland College represent the post secondary schools. Numerous schools exist offering speciality training. Two Provincial libraries exist in the city, whereas some can be utilized in schools. Community Education programs exist to contribute to the varying needs of the city population. Such Programs include P.E.I. Literacy, Alliance Community Access, Program Workplace, Education Canada, and Spell Easy . Cap Sites for free public computer access can be utilized at Government offices such as Human Resource Center and Access P.E.I.. Community. Community Education is further promoted by Community Schools offering such courses as Quilting, money management, and French( See Appendix D, E, F). Safety Safety is an important aspect to an community to ensure safety and a sense of a positive well being. Generally Charlottetown is a safe community to live in and safety issues are dealt with rapidly. Recently there has been some concern regarding bugargly and convience store break ins. To deal with this issue, police are providing safety education to the public and increasing the amount of patrolling at night. In the worksite, issues arise regarding the use of perfumes. However, a new legislation has been put in place to discourage using perfume in the work place. Safety issues in the schools surround the issues of bullying; thus schools are promoting education in areas as self esteem and violence prevention. Another safety concern for some children is allergies related to peanuts. In combat this problem, the Eastern School Board has prohibited children taking any products with peanuts. Transportation In Charlottetown, traditional methods still exist for transportation. The 2001 Cencus reported that 29, 974 residents utilized cars, trucks and vans, 25 accessed public transit, 1925 walked or bicycled, and finally 385 residents utilized another undefined method. The Trans Canada highway leads from the city; from the east it connects to the Wood Island ferry and to the west with the Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick. In addition, the Charlottetown airport has flights with Air Canada and Canadian Air Line associates, which offer up to thirteen return flights from Halifax. An inexpensive available way to travel to the main land is with the SMT bus system which leaves daily. At the present time, the public transit bus system is only exists for senior citizen utilization. Politics The Legislative Assembly is the parliament of P.E.I. responsible for passing legislation, approving financial proposals of the government and holding the premier and cabinet accountable for the their action.
Approximate Word count = 4406
Approximate Pages = 17.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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