Professional Context

Many organizations work to better local and global communities’ quality of life and promote health and safety in times of crisis. As public health and safety advocates, nurses must be cognizant of how such organizations help certain populations. As change agents, nurses must be aware of factors that impact the organization and the services that it offers. Familiarity with these organizations enables the nurse to offer assistance as a volunteer and source of referral.This assessment provides an opportunity for you gain insight into the mission, vision, and operations of a community services organization of interest.

Demonstration of Proficiency

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Analyze health risks and health care needs among distinct populations.
  • Explain how an organization’s work impacts the health and/or safety needs of a local community.
• Competency 2: Propose health promotion strategies to improve the health of populations.
  • Explain how an organization’s mission and vision enable it to contribute to public health and safety improvements.
• Competency 3: Evaluate health policies, based on their ability to achieve desired outcomes.
  • Assess the impact of funding sources, policy, and legislation on an organization’s provision of services.
• Competency 4: Integrate principles of social justice in community health interventions.
  • Evaluate an organization’s ability to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life within a community.
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication strategies to lead health promotion and improve population health.
  • Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.

Note: Complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

Preparation

Assume you are interested in expanding your role as a nurse and are considering working in an area where you can help to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life within the local or global community. You are aware of the work of several nonprofit organizations and government agencies whose work contributes to this effort in some way. You have particular interest in one of these organizations but would like to know more about how it contributes to public health and safety improvements. In addition, you would like to report the results of your research in a scholarly paper that you could submit for publication.As you begin to prepare this assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Nonprofit Organizations and Community Health activity. Complete this activity to gain insight into promoting equal opportunity and improving the quality of life in a community. The information gained from completing this activity will help you succeed with the assessment.Then, choose the organization or agency you are most interested in researching:

• American Heart Association.
• World Heart Federation.
• Peace Corps.
• American Red Cross.
• Habitat for Humanity.
• United Way.
• Doctors Without Borders.
• The Salvation Army.
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Note: Remember that you can submit all, or a portion of, your draft research paper to Smarthinking Tutoring for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.

Instructions

Research your chosen organization and submit a report of your findings.

Document Format and Length

Format your paper using APA style.

• Use the APA Style Paper Template. An APA Style Paper Tutorial is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Be sure to include:
  • A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
  • A running head on all pages.
  • Appropriate section headings.
• Your paper should comprise 3–5 pages of content plus title and references pages.

Supporting Evidence

Cite at least three credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications that support your research findings.

Graded Requirements

The research requirements, outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the assessment scoring guide, so be sure to address each point.

• Explain how the organization’s mission and vision enable it to contribute to public health and safety improvements.
  • Include examples of ways a local and/or global initiative supports organizational mission and vision and promotes public health and safety.
• Evaluate an organization’s ability to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life in the community.
  • Consider the effects of social, cultural, economic, and physical barriers.
• Assess the impact of funding sources, policy, and legislation on the organization’s provision of services.
  • Consider the potential implications of funding decisions, policy, and legislation for individuals, families, and aggregates within the community.
• Explain how an organization’s work impacts the health and/or safety needs of a local community.
  • Consider how nurses might become involved with the organization.
• Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.
  • Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
  • Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards and APA formatting requirements.

Additional Requirements

Before submitting your paper, proofread it to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it difficult for them to focus on your research findings.Portfolio Prompt: Remember to save the assessment to your ePortfolio so that you may refer to it as you complete the final capstone course.