NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1

NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1 Health Promotion Research Student Name Capella University NURS-FPX4055 Optimizing Population Health through Community Practice Professor Name Submission Date Health Promotion Research Food insecurity and lack of safe and affordable food can result in illnesses such as poor nutrition, chronic diseases, mental health conditions, and childhood development problems. There are 13.5 million people in the US who have limited access to supermarkets and large grocery stores, which means they don’t have good access to fresh and healthy foods (Young et al., 2023). This is a food security assessment of the low-income and vulnerable families of Staten Island, NY. This will be a comprehensive evaluation to identify existing food security in the community and what factors – and what attributes – are responsible for this. SMART goals will also be created in order to provide a framework for developing a future health promotion educational intervention. Competency-Based Analysis of Food Insecurity Food security is lacking among all ages, including children, senior citizens, and ethnic minorities, and among the unemployed. There are 498,212 residents in Staten Island (also referred to as Richmond County), and the community’s poverty rate is 11.1% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024). There are Staten Island residents who have access to essentials that provide them with a means to meet their basic needs, while there are other Staten Island residents who live in poverty and are unable to provide themselves with regular, healthy foods. Food insecurity is not only a sign of economic hardship, but it also often leads to health problems and adverse health outcomes, such as increased risk for chronic diseases, mental health disorders, and premature mortality (Levy & Perez-Velazco, 2025). Food-insecure people tend to prefer “easy” foods that are both low in nutritional content and high in calories and consume fewer high-protein, nutritious foods. A healthier society should make a concerted effort to encourage and promote healthier lifestyles through food education, by increasing access to food assistance programs, and by educating the consumer about resources within the community that can help them become healthier. Points of Uncertainty and Underlying Assumptions There are some assumptions about food insecurity. One assumption is that a grocery store is available to residents in its neighborhood in a sufficient fashion for nutrition access to be available. People who do need assistance will take up government redistribution programs and other community services, an often assumed and even hoped-for process. Persons who are not fond of these programs may not realize that there are some people who do not use these programs at all because they are embarrassed, don’t know about the program, have no convenient transportation, language barriers, or doubts about their qualifications to access the resources used by the program. Accordingly, solutions need to be person- and community-centered, with interventions that are effective in shifting individual behaviors in the community and in changing policies that help minimize food insecurity (Young et al., 2023). Much uncertainty still exists on how widespread the problem of food insecurity is throughout the region. Furthermore, the level of food insecurity can influence the employment opportunities for people, along with family situations, housing prices, and inflation. Characteristics of the Target Community for Food Insecurity Prevention This health promotion project is designed for low-income families, unemployed adult population, older adults on fixed incomes, and families with kids in the Staten Island region. The community is a diverse mix of White (54%), Black (8%), Hispanic (20%), Asian (14%), and other people (1%), living in suburban-style housing (Supervision of Migratory x Population in Suburban x U.S. Census Bureau, 2024). Moreover, many people in the community use community services like hospitals, schools, and pharmacies to access vital services. The windshield survey revealed different options for transportation, including car, bus, Staten Island Railway, and ferry, but for many societies, the means of transportation will pose a problem in having affordable food. Culturally, shared values, beliefs, and attitudes often stem from a group’s dietary choices, setting, and surroundings (Jayasinghe et al., 2025), all of which might shape their dietary patterns. Food purchasing and nutrition will continue to be impacted by employment and education, income, and cultural eating behavior. A community-based education intervention will be delivered to the target adults whose responsibility it is to buy the food and cook it for the household members. Relevance to the Larger Target Community While this report focuses on Staten Island, it should be noted that food insecurity is a related issue across all points of NYC, and Food Insecurity on a broader U.S. scale is equally large. If there is ready access to sufficient healthy food, there is economic inequality, and there is inflation – as these impact an entire country. The policies and approaches that were developed to reduce Staten Island’s food insecurity can be implemented in other communities in cities and suburbs where food insecurity exists. The theory of community-based participatory (CBP) intervention implies that involving community members as partners in the interventions to decrease health disparities is effective in various ways (Doustmohammadian et al. 2022). Community-based nutrition education programs and opportunities to use partnerships with food banks, as well as getting other communities to be more aware of the services that are available, can be models for other communities in developing a program or activity to address food insecurity. Importance of Addressing Food Insecurity in Health Promotion The issue of food insecurity is significant in the field of health promotion, as adequate nutrition is crucial in maintaining the health of people. People who are food insecure are at an increased risk of developing chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. Health Promotion activities can raise awareness about resources; healthy eating; and how to budget for food purchases; programs that can help them get food if they are in need; and chronic disease management. Several fledgling programs could be considered as potential opportunities to integrate health care and food systems, including produce-prescription programs and food-as-medicine interventions (Levy & Perez-Velazco, 2025). This will aid in addressing food