Exploring the Sentinel City: A Virtual Tour - Essay Sample

Introduction

The Sentinel City, in this case, or paper, is a virtual community with which this information was acquired through online means by a tour into the city. Within the city’s four neighborhoods, its population is 663,862 (Sentinel City, 2020). These neighborhoods are Nightingale Square, Industrial Heights, Acer Tech Center, and Casper Park District. Of these four, Casper Park District is the highest in terms of population with 352,643, which is followed by the Acer Tech area with 168,390, followed by Nightingale Square at 103,974, then lastly Industrial Heights is the lowest in population 38,855 (Sentinel City, 2020). In terms of its age breakdown per population, 7.4% of its population are less than the age of five years, 21.7% less than eighteen, & 10.5% greater than sixty-five years. In terms of the ethnic groups of the city, 80.6% are Caucasian, while 31% being Hispanic, with 10.4% are African Americans, 3.74% being Asian, while 2.0% are Native Americans, 0.2% being Pacific Islanders while 3.1% are those with more than one race (Sentinel City, 2020). In the specific areas, Industrial Heights is the highest in terms of the Hispanics population, which is 46.8% & 13.1% African Americans within the city. Casper Park District, on the other hand, is with 63% Caucasians & Hispanics at 24%, while Acer Tech Center got 70.2% Caucasians & 13.7% being Hispanics; lastly, Nightingale Square has 81.3% Caucasians & Hispanics at 3.7% (Sentinel City, 2020).

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In terms of income, Sentinel City has a median income of $49,091. Of this overall median income, Nightingale Square is with the highest, which is $269,550, then followed by the Acer Tech community at $166,300, followed by the Casper Park District at $80,134, then lastly Industrial Heights with the lowest at $24,672 (Sentinel City, 2020). Of the Sentinel City's population, 18.9% of them live below the poverty level. 37.5% of Industrial Heights’ residents are those non-insured ones, while Casper Park has 22.7%, 1.5% being of Acer Tech residents, & 0.7% of Nightingale Square residents (non-insured) (Sentinel City, 2020).

Neighborhood or Safety Assessment

On my travel through Sentinel City, there existed evidence of significant health a& safety hazards. Most of these hazards were observed in Industrial Heights area. For instance, there was a burning car as well as fire in the garbage can next to the soup kitchen; the smoke emerging from this is definitely an air pollutant. Graffiti was observed on most buildings in the city with garbage noticeable in many areas alongside the buildings which had rats running all over the garbage. Garbage was also noticeable at the park through the school to the church. Most buildings in the city were either abandoned or needed repair, with the streets having cracks & sinkholes in them.

Moreover, through data collection, there was a reported illicit drug usage among a significant population as in the past year. Alcohol was leading with 26% as well as tobacco, with 24% as the substances mostly used in the city. Marijuana follows the two at 12% of the total population, heroine followed with 7%, cocaine as well as depressants of CNS being at 5%, with the drugs in least use being the club drugs with 2% while methamphetamine being at 0.5% (Sentinel City, 2020).

The city has several emergency responses teams, including Advanced Life Support, EMS, and Fire Response Team. The approximated response times for each team were 7.5 mins for Advanced Life Support & EMS and 6.5 mins for Fire Response Team with the overall response time for the teams being below ten minutes/call (Essays, 2018).

Most of the arrests over the past year in the city were as a result of warrants at 23%, which is according to the data collected from the department of police. Arrests due to the battery ranged at 17%, 16% for a controlled substance, while 9% for reckless conducts with public intoxication & criminal trespass being the lowest causes of arrests at 6% (Sentinel City, 2020). In terms of crime rates, gang-related violence in Sentinel City is the most significant contributor with aggravated assault being the highest over the past year, simple assault & robbery were at 40 while homicide being the lowest crime (Sentinel City, 2020).

Top Health Problems in the City

The city could be seen to have had many problems that need to be focused on; however, in this paper, the major ones are highlighted. These problems are highlighted in comparison to the Healthy People 2020, and they include environmental health, (STDs) sexually transmitted diseases in youths, and the lack of outdoor recreational resources, thus inactive recreational activities.

Of the different locations in the city, for instance, at Better Health Clinic, it was shocking to realize that 70% of patients diagnosed with gonorrhea were those aged between 15 & 24 years. While another shocking one was the 63% diagnosed with Chlamydia being the same age bracket with 40% with HPV. According to Healthy People 2020, the most recent cases of gonorrhea as in 2015 among females were approximated at 270,000 aged between 15 and 44 years (healthypeople.gov, 2020). Whether these numbers are due to a lack of sex education (safe) programs or a monetary concern for the community, it remains to be determined.

The next health problem that is environmental health is a crucial one. In areas such as the Industrial Heights, rats were seen to have infested the garbage next to buildings with cars & barrels being burned, animals are seen to have roamed the streets & fed-off the trash, and that the air quality as well as wastewater being the major concerns in such areas. According to Healthy People 2020, poor quality of air is linked to cancer, premature deaths, and have long-term damages to respiratory as well as cardiovascular systems (healthypeople.gov, 2020).

Another health concern realized was the lack of outdoor recreational resources inhibiting daily routines. Upon the tour through the city, only one park, basketball court, & one tennis court were noticed of which were run-down with garbage and weeds. The whole city lacked an open space allocated or designed for outdoor activities with no open playground for kids, no hiking or bike trails and thus clear that these all lead to an inactive population as stated by the Healthy People 2020, "improved quality of life can be increased with fitness and activity" (healthypeople.gov, 2020).

Primary Prevention

In the case of Sentinel City, the primary prevention that can best fit its population is physical activity. This is based on the fact that both personal & community activities do boost morale and also prolong life. Based on the American Heart Association, it is stated that regular physical exercises do relieve tension, anger, depression, and anxiety with improved well-being ("Physical Activity", 2020).

Recommendation and Conclusion

Upon going through the virtual city’s simulation, it is easy not to pay attention to bad things in our community. Analyzing and evaluating the collected data reveals the close correlation & interrelation between income & health & well-being or lack of it of the people in any society. There are definitely multiple areas and sectors that call for an alarm and much attention so that there can be an increase in the well-being of the people within the city. Therefore, all these problems mentioned here and those that are not mentioned need more research and studies to establish the best remedies and solutions that can benefit the whole community of Sentinel City.

References

C228 Sentinel City Task 1 Essay Wgu C228 Task 1 Essay - 2840 Words - Ostatic. Ostatic.com. (2020). Retrieved 4 July 2020, from https://ostatic.com/essays/c228-sentinel-city-task-1-essay-wgu-c228-task-1-essay.

Community Assessment in Sentinel City | Eddusaver. Eddusaver. (2020). Retrieved 4 July 2020, from https://www.eddusaver.com/community-assessment-in-sentinel-city/.

Essays, UK. (November 2018). Community Health and Population Focused Nursing Action Report. Retrieved from https://nursinganswers.net/essays/community-health-and-population-focused-nursing-action-report.php?vref=1

Healthy People 2020 |. Healthypeople.gov. (2020). Retrieved 4 July 2020, from http://www.healthypeople.gov/.

Physical Activity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Retrieved 4 July 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/index.html.