Community Characteristics Discussion Paper

• Discuss the general community characteristics, such as historical development and geographic boundaries

The community of interest has been identified as Elizabethtown in Essex County, New York. Elizabethtown has a history that can be traced to as early as 1792 when Revolutionary War veteran from Vermont settled in the town. At the time, it was known as Pleasant Valley.  The town was formally recognized and organized in 1798 with its boundaries covering an area of 822 square miles. The town was later named Elizabethtown after Elizabeth Gillilland, the names of the daughter and wife of William Gillilland, a landholder who had settled in the area before the Revolutionary War. During the early years, the town’s chief economic industries were cutting and marketing lumber and maple sugaring. Lumbering was replaced by tourism as the main economic industry. The town now serves as a center for commercial and public services (Cross, n.d.). Currently, the town’s boundaries cover a geographical area of 3.3 square miles (Census Reporter, 2020).

• Describe demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the community

As earlier indicated, Elizabethtown covers an area of 3.3 square miles. The town has a population of 631 people to imply that it has a population density of 190.9 people per square mile. A review of the demographic data reveals that the median age for the town is 57.6 years. 54% of the population is between 18 and 64 years of age. The town population is largely Caucasian with 87% being White, 7% being Hispanic and 3% being African American. 56% of the population is of the female gender while 44% is of the male gender (Census Reporter, 2020).

A review of the town’s economics reveals that the two has a per capita income of $31,759 with the median household income being $65,789. Annual household income data shows that 43% of the households earn less than $50,000, 34% earn between $50,000 and $100,000, 18% earn between $100,000 and $200,000, and 5% earn more than $200,000. 9% of the population lives below the poverty line. 10% of children under 18 years of age live in poverty while none of the older adults (65 years of age and old) live below the poverty line (Census Reporter, 2020).

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A review of families in the town reveals that there are 250 households with approximately 2.1 persons per household. 52% of the households are comprised of married couples, 23% are non-family households, 21% are female householders, and 4% are male householder.  Community Characteristics Discussion Paper 47% of persons 15 years of age and older are married while 53% are single. 19% of males and 25% of females have never been married, 52% of males and 42% of females are married, 12% of males and 12% of females are divorced, and 17% of males and 20% of females are widowed (Census Reporter, 2020).

A review of the housing figures in the town reveals that there are 351 housing units of which 71% are occupied while 29% are vacant. 78% of the occupied units are occupied by their owners while 22% are renter occupied. 79% of the housing units are single units, 20% are multi-units, and 1% are mobile homes.  The median value of owner occupied housing units is $171,800. 12% of the homes are values at less than $100,000, 50% are valued at between $100,000 and $200,000, 25% are valued at between $200,000 and $300,000, and 7% are valued at between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Geographical mobility data for the town reveals that 233% of the population moved houses since the previous year with 77 % occupying the same house, 18% moving within the same county, 3% moving from a different county, % moving from a different state, and 2% moving from abroad (Census Reporter, 2020).

A review of the social data reveals that 91.3% of the population have a high school grad of higher level of education while 30.1% have a Bachelor’s degree or higher level of education. 9% of the population older than 24 years of age have no degrees, 32% have a high school as the minimum level of education, 29% have some college education, 14% have a Bachelor’s degree and 16% have a post-graduate degree. 11.4% of the population have a veteran status. A total of 61% veterans reside in the town with all of them being males. 9 of them fought in the Second World War, 11 fought in the Korean War, and 22 of them fought in the Vietnam War (Census Reporter, 2020).

• Identify and describe key groups that exist within the community, with an emphasis on vulnerable groups

The key population group of interest in Elizabethtown is adults older than 49 years of age. A review of the population demographics reveals that the median age is 57.6 years. 35% of the population is 49 years of age and younger while the remaining 65% of the population is older than 49 years of age. 19% of the population is between 50 and 59 years of age, 22% of the population is between 60 and 69 years of age, 9% of the population is between 70 and 79 years of age, and 15% of the population is 80 years of age and older (Census Reporter, 2020).

• Identify specific health concerns for members of the community

Elizabethtown has a high proportion of older adults in its population, and this is a concern since this group has declining capacities that identify the population as vulnerable. The aging population is placing a significant strain in health resources. Of significant concern is the risk for hypertension. Fryar et al. (2017) places the issue into perspective by noting that the prevalence of hypertension increases significantly between different age groups. For persons between 18 and 39 years of age, the prevalence of hypertension is 7.5%, increasing to 33.2% for persons between 40 and 59 years of age, and further increasing to 63.1% for persons who are 60 years of age and older (Fryar et al., 2017). This makes it clear that the largely elderly population in Elizabethtown is at high risk of developing hypertension that would place a strain on health care resources. There is a need for intervention measures to reduce the risk of hypertension and ensure that the local population is prepared to handle any concerns associated with developing hypertension (Truglio-Londrigan & Lewenson, 2019).

References

Census Reporter (2020). Elizabethtown, NY. https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US3623822-elizabethtown-ny/

Cross, J. M. (n.d.). History of Elizabethtown (AKA Pleasant Valley). http://etownny.com/index_files/Page1153.htm

Fryar, C. D., Ostchega, Y., Hales, C. M., Zhang, G., & Kruszon-Moran, D. (2017). Hypertension Prevalence and Control Among Adults: United States, 2015-2016. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db289.htm

Truglio-Londrigan, M., & Lewenson, S. (Eds.) (2018). Public Health Nursing: Practicing Population-Based Care (3^rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.  Community Characteristics Discussion Paper