Alachua County Quality of Life

To find out the quality of life in Alachua County it is important to compare certain parameters against the Florida State on average. First, the median household income for the period 2013 to 2015 indicates that Alachua residence has an average of USD 42,045 as compared to the state average of USD 47212 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017). This income level implies that the Alachua residents are struggling to meet their state average suggesting that life harder as compared to the majority of the counties within the state. During the same year of analysis, the unemployment rate in Alachua County stood at 4.5% against the state rate of 5.4%, which indicates that it experiences a low unemployment rate compared to the majority of the counties (Florida Department of Health, 2016). The rate of unemployed is equally lower than the national average of about 5.3% average as from 1947 to 2017. The level of unemployment is similarly lower than the national average of about 4.9% during the year 2015. The fertility rate for the period of 2013-2015 averaged at 44.5% in Alachua County against Florida’s average of 60.5%. The fertility rate indicates lower live births per thousand women in Alachua as compared to the Florida State.

The indicator is instrumental in understanding the causes of the lower fertility in women. Cases of domestic violence are rated at 595.9 as opposed to Florida’s rate of 549.3 during the year 2013 to 2015, and this indicates decreasing trend showing that the county has a peaceful homestead. Cases of murder are fewer within the Alachua rated at 2% as compared to the Florida’s that stands at 5.1%. Tuberculosis kills around two thousand people every year within the county of Alachua, and this is a major concern that requires being addressed to help eliminate the menace (Florida Department of Health, 2016). In terms of access to dental care by low-income citizens, 20.5% of the Alachua residents were able to access dental care against the States’ 26.1%. The County of Alachua is rated 741.9 as compared to Florida’s average of 680.8 indicating that the overall medicare is below the average score of most of the counties in Florida. More cases of heart and cancer-related diseases are experienced in the Alachua and the Florida state in general. About 16.55 of the population live within the poverty level, and that is high considering the state is found within one of the developed nations. Based on the above parameters the quality of life within Alachua seems to be average indicating majority are living in the hardship(Florida Department of Health, 2016). The paper analyzes the tuberculosis disease in Florida State with particular focus to Alachua County.

Tuberculosis being one of the communicable diseases within the county will be useful in creating a health record program to help mitigate the effects. For the selected disease a number of quality of life information indicators include the death rate per annum, the number of child mortality, and the number of birth defects, and the quality of air. Other than the above factors specific health indicators include; the social and mental health, the health resources availability, the prevalence of chronic diseases, population characteristics, reportable and infectious diseases, the environmental health and the rate of maternal and child health(Raviglione & Smith, 2007). The information listed above will help identify the poverty level through analysis of health resources availability in terms of the number who can access the health services or the number of individuals who can access professional services. The population characteristics provide for the income level as well as the unemployment rate within the county of Alachua.

The rate of tuberculosis points at possible drug abuse as well as the possibility of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Analysis of maternal and child health helps determine the ease of health services as well as poverty index within the county. The higher number of tuberculosis death indicates that majority of people are engaged in the smoking, unprotected sex, and above all, it shows that the level of Medicare is low(Morales, 2000). Demographic characteristics of the targeted population include race, sex, age, income, unemployment, and residency. The targeted population will have to classify the affected population according to the races within the United States of America and with a focus to those living within the county of Alachua. For instance, the demographics will indicate the number of blacks, white, and Hispanic who are affected by the diseases. In terms of sex, it will be necessary to compare the number of male against the female who are suffering from TB. The group will be vital to understanding the trend and rate among each group. Income level among the populations will be important in understanding the potential cause of death due to poverty or other related factors. Unemployment will be an important factor in establishing the potential effect of unemployment on the TB prevalence too. The targeted population is both males and females of age between 15 to 65 years old.The prevalent on young adult will be analyzed to compare the rate with the mature adult. Where necessary the analysis among the female and male Hispanics, black and white will be conducted to identify the relationship among the three categories of the population (Nathanson, 2010). In order to effectively implement the program on tuberculosis treatment, a number of stakeholders are required to ensure a successful result.

Within the healthcare system the some of the personnel that will be needed include laboratory staffs, hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, engineers, architects and of course government personnel to ensure compliance will be of great help. The administrators will ensure that the overall administration of the program is done to ensure the stated goal is achieved. The role of architects will be to ensure proper design of the isolation rooms to minimize contact with other patients. The engineers will be needed to ensure the construction is undertaken as per the planned architectural design. The role of doctors in identifying and diagnosing patients with tuberculosis will be critical to ensure the patients are cured out of their prescriptions. The nurses will ensure that the patients follow their prescriptions and where necessary offer constant nursing services to those critically affected. Laboratory technicians will help in analyzing the specimens as recommended by the doctors and provide feedback necessary to offer treatment to the patient.

The government will be critical in providing funds to the project to help eradicate the diseases. Further, the government will offer direction on how the program is to be run. In certain cases where there may be need to establish forced testing the government effort will be needed. To ensure that the victims stick to the prescriptions strict rule will be adhered to ensure the drugs are not being administered over the counter (Morales, 2000). The nature of tuberculosis supplies ranges from treatment kits, medical to other enablers that will induce the population into adhering to the program. The incentives meant to encourage the targeted population into participating include personal care items, household items, clothing, automotive supplies, food, and beverages. Other incentives would include holiday treats and food vouchers. T

he program would also require specific enablers such as transportation, rental assistance, shipping specimen from manufacturer to the patient. The patient would also be assisted with medication as one of the enablers to support the program. Where the patient suffers from substance abuse, it would be necessary to assist them to get the recommended treatment (Nathanson, 2010). To determine the budget for the targeted population, it would be necessary to conduct a pilot study to estimate the possible logistic costs. The budget will however take into consideration the cost of supplies to include the enablers as well as the incentives aimed at promoting elimination of TB within the Alachua County of Florida State. The cost for nursing services will be taken into consideration as well as the doctor’s fees. The architects’ fees and the engineers to design the possible shelter for the victims will also be included. The role of government providing for the resources will be necessary as well as seeking for the well-wishers to help conduct the program within the Alachua County.

References

Florida Department of Health. (2016). County-state profile Alachua County, Florida. Retrieved February 18, 2017, from http://www.flhealthcharts.com/charts/DisplayHTML.aspx?ReportType=7200&County=&year=2015&tn=25

Morales, E. (2000). Program for tuberculosis control in Puerto Rico. JAMA , 5, 1842-1844.

Nathanson, E. (2010). MDR Tuberculosis — Critical steps for prevention and control. New England Journal of Medicine, 7, 1050-1058. Raviglione, M., & Smith, I. (2007). XDR tuberculosis - Implications for global public health. New England Journal of Medicine, 8, 656-659.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2017). Economy at a glance. Retrieved February 18, 2017, from United States Department of Labor: https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm