This document provides guidance for completing a windshield survey to assess community health needs. It outlines six areas of focus for the survey: 1) community vitality, 2) social and economic conditions, 3) health resources, 4) environmental health, 5) social functioning, and 6) attitudes toward healthcare. For each area, it lists relevant questions to consider when directly observing the community. The purpose of the windshield survey is to identify potential community health problems by gathering information on demographic characteristics, socioeconomic factors, health access, and environmental conditions in the area.

1. BOX 6-2 QUESTIONS TO GUIDE COMMUNITY
OBSERVATIONS DURING A WINDSHIELD SURVEY
· 1. Community vitality:
· • Are people visible in the community? What are they doing?
· • Who are the people living in the neighborhood? What is their
age range? What is the predominant age (e.g., elderly,
preschoolers, young mothers, or school-aged children)?
· • What ethnicity or race is most common?
· • What is the general appearance of those you observed? Do
they appear healthy? Do you notice any people with obvious
disabilities, such as those using walkers or wheelchairs, or
those with mental or emotional disabilities? Where do they live?
· • Do you notice residents who are well nourished or
malnourished, thin or obese, vigorous or frail, unkempt or
scantily dressed, or well dressed and clean?
· • Do you notice tourists or visitors to the community?
· • Do you observe any people who appear to be under the
influence of drugs or alcohol?
· • Do you see any pregnant women? Do you see women with
strollers and young children?
· 2. Indicators of social and economic conditions:
· • What is the general condition of the homes you observe? Are
these single-family homes or multifamily structures? Is there
any evidence of dilapidated housing or of areas undergoing
urban renewal? Is there public housing? What is its condition?
· • What forms of transportation do people seem to be using? Is
there public transit? Are there adequate bus stops with benches
and shade? Is transportation to health care resources available?
· • Are there any indicators of the kinds of work available to
residents? Are there job opportunities nearby, such as factories,
small businesses, or military installations? Are there
unemployed people visible, such as homeless people?
· • Do you see men congregating in groups on the street? What
do they look like, and what are they doing?

2. · • Is this a rural area? Are there farms or agricultural
businesses?
· • Do you note any seasonal workers, such as migrant or day
laborers?
· • Do you see any women hanging out along the streets? What
are they doing?
· • Do you observe any children or adolescents out of school
during the daytime?
· • Do you observe any interest in political campaigns or issues,
such as campaign signs?
· • Do you see any evidence of health education on billboards,
advertisements, signs, radio stations, or television stations? Do
these methods seem appropriate for the people you observed?
· • What kinds of schools and day care centers are available?
· 3. Health resources:
· • Do you notice any hospitals? What kind are they? Where are
they located?
· • Are there any clinics? Whom do they serve? Are there any
family planning services?
· • Are there doctors’ and dentists’ offices? Are they specialists
or generalists?
· • Do you notice any nursing homes, rehabilitation centers,
mental health clinics, alcohol or drug treatment centers,
homeless or abused shelters, wellness clinics, health department
facilities, urgent care centers, mobile health vehicles, blood
donation centers, or pharmacies?
· • Are these resources appropriate and sufficient to address the
kinds of problems that exist in this community?
· 4. Environmental conditions related to health:
· • Do you see evidence of anything that might make you
suspicious of ground, water, or air pollutants?
· • What is the sanitary condition of the housing? Is housing
overcrowded, dirty, or in need of repair? Are windows
screened?
· • What is the condition of the roads? Are potholes present?
Are drainage systems in place? Are there low water crossings,

3. and do they have warning signals? Are there adequate traffic
lights, signs, sidewalks, and curbs? Are railroad crossings fitted
with warnings and barriers? Are streets and parking lots well
lit? Is this a heavily trafficked area, or are roads rural? Are
there curves or features that make the roads hazardous?
· • Is there handicapped access to buildings, sidewalks, and
streets?
· • Do you observe recreational facilities and playgrounds? Are
they being used? Is there a YMCA/YWCA or community
center? Are there any day care facilities or preschools?
· • Are children playing in the streets, alleys, yards, or parks?
· • Do you see any restaurants?
· • Is food sold on the streets? Are people eating in public
areas? Are there trash receptacles and places for people to sit?
Are public restrooms available?
· • What evidence of any nuisances such as ants, flies,
mosquitoes, or rodents do you observe? Are there stray animals
wandering in the neighborhood?
· 5. Social functioning:
· • Do you observe any families in the neighborhoods? Can you
observe their structure or functioning? Who is caring for the
children? What kind of supervision do they have? Is more than
one generation present?
· • Are there any identifiable subgroups related to one another
either socially or geographically?
· • What evidence of a sense of neighborliness can you observe?
· • What evidence of community cohesiveness can you observe?
Are there any group efforts in the neighborhood to improve the
living conditions or the neighborhood? Is there a neighborhood
watch? Do community groups post signs for neighborhood
meetings?
· • How many and what type of churches, synagogues, and other
places of worship are there?
· • Can you observe anything that would make you suspicious of
social problems, such as gang activity, juvenile delinquency,
drug or alcohol abuse, and adolescent pregnancy?

4. · 6. Attitude toward health and health care:
· • Do you observe any evidence of folk medicine practice, such
as a botanical or herbal medicine shop? Are there any
alternative medicine practitioners?
· • Do you observe that health resources are well utilized or
underutilized?
· • Is there evidence of preventive or wellness care?
· • Do you observe any efforts to improve the neighborhood’s
health? Planned health fairs? Do you see advertisements for
health-related events, clinics, or lectures?
Chamberlain College of Nursing NR443 Community
Health Nursing
Guidelines for Caring for Populations Milestone 1:
Community Windshield Survey
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to complete a direct
observational assessment of a community in your area. This
windshield survey will be the initial step in uncovering a
community health problem in your area and identifying
community dynamics. This problem will be further assessed in
the following two assignments.
Course Outcomes
This assignment enables the student to meet the following
course outcomes.
CO2: Assess the health needs of individuals, families,
aggregates, and communities using demographic and
epidemiological data to identify population health risks. (PO 4)
Due Date
Submit to the appropriate basket in the Dropbox by 11:59 p.m.
MT Sunday of Week 2.
Points: 150 pointsDirections

5. 1. Download the NR443 Community Windshield Survey form
from Doc Sharing. You will type your name and answers
directly onto this Word document. Your form does not need to
follow APA formatting; however, you are expected to use a
professional writing style with complete sentences, accurate
grammar, and correct spelling. If references are used, they must
be cited in the text and the complete reference should be
included in the reference box in APA format. References are
optional.
2. Watch Caring for Populations project overview and Milestone
1 tutorial by clicking this link. This tutorial is also available on
Course Project page under Course Home as well as Week 2
Assignments page.
3. Save the file by clicking Save as and adding your last name
to the file name; for example, NR443 Windshield Survey
Form_Smith.
4. Submit the completed form to the Caring for Populations:
Community Windshield Survey Dropbox by Sunday, 11:59 p.m.
MT at the end of Week 2.
5. Length: The completed form should be three to four pages in
length (not including any optional references). Guidelines
Below are the requirements needed for successful completion of
the Windshield Survey Form.
1. Introduction to the Community: Identify the community you
will be using for this assignment with the city and state and
provide a brief one paragraph description of the community.
Your community should be the area where you live or the area
surrounding your work setting. The community must include a
residential area and be broad enough to answer the survey
questions. You do not need demographic data.
2. Windshield Survey: Assess your community by doing a
windshield survey. Information about the components of a
windshield survey is located in your textbook, Nies & McEwen
(2015) on page 98 (Box 6-2). Drive through the area and report
your observations by describing each of the following six areas
using a majority of the questions from each category of Box 6-2

6. as your guide (one to two in depth paragraphs for each
category). Be sure to include what you observed related to each
of these categories, and also include any significant items that
are missing in your community because this may be equally
important in identifying a community health problem.
a. Community vitality
b. Indicators of social and economic conditions
c. Health resources
d. Environmental conditions related to health
e. Social functioning
f. Attitude toward healthcare
Note: It is helpful to conduct this assessment at least two
different times: during the day or evening, on a weekday and/or
on the weekend. If possible, plan on asking someone to drive
during your survey so that you can take notes.
3. Conclusion: Provide a summary of your findings. Describe
significant community health problems based on your
observations. The information gathered during the windshield
survey should assist you to identify community health problems
that will be further assessed in the next assignment.
4. References: The purpose of this assignment is to document
your observations of your community. Outside sources are not
required. However, if sources are used, these sources must be
cited within the form (Author, year) and listed in the reference
section in APA format (see APA category in Course Resources
for help with formatting).Best Practices in Completing the Form
The following are best practices in preparing this project.
· Make sure all elements of the form are included.
· Review directions and grading rubric below thoroughly.
· Cite any outside references as above (these are optional).
· Use a professional writing style with complete sentences.
· Proofread prior to final submission.
· Check for spelling and grammar errors prior to final
submission.
· Abide by the Chamberlain academic integrity policy.

7. Grading Rubric: Caring for Populations: Community Windshield
Survey (150 points)
Criteria
A
(92–100%)
Outstanding or highest level of performance
B
(84–91%)
Very good or high level of performance
C
(76–83%)
Competent or satisfactory level of performance
F
(0–75%)
Poor, failing, or unsatisfactory level of performance
Pts
Introduction of Community
20 points
Community identified and briefly described
(18–20 points)
Community identified but description is missing
(16–17 points)
Community identification and description are insufficient
(15 points)
Community not identified or described
(0–14 points)
/20
Windshield Survey
100 points
Community assessed: findings adequately cover the six criteria
listed
(92–100 points)
Assessment of 1–2 of the criteria is missing or inadequate
(84–91 points)
Assessment of 3–4 of the criteria is missing or inadequate

8. (76–83 points)
Windshield survey not completed or criteria not followed
(0–75 points)
/100
Conclusion
20 points
Conclusion sufficient and includes brief summary of windshield
survey findings and identification of community health
problems
(18–20 points)
Conclusion lacks brief summary of findings or problem
identification
(16–17 points)
Conclusion lacks brief summary and problem identification
(15 points)
Conclusion not completed
(0–14 points)
/20
Mechanics
10 points
No more than two grammar or spelling errors; writes logically
in complete sentences
(10 points)
Three errors of any type
(8–9 points)
Four errors of any type
(6–7 points)
More than four errors of any type
(0–5 points)
/10
Total Points:
/150

9. NR443 Milestone 1: Windshield Survey updated 4/9/15
LS
2