Case Study: Community Health Concerns
Maya Marquez is a 63-year-old woman living in a low-income senior citizen high rise in an impoverished inner city. She has diabetes, high blood pressure, and is obese. Her doctors tell her to exercise and make healthy food choices. Ms. Marquez does not feel safe walking the 5 blocks to the corner market. The corner store has a limited selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead, the options included mostly prepackaged and processed foods with high sodium content and sugary beverages. She does not drive. The senior service transportation van provided through her high rise is limited to doctor’s appointments and the neighborhood market.
University students majoring in public health provide monthly screening and education services at the senior citizen high rise as part of their fieldwork. During a presentation to the residents about preventing and reducing obesity, Ms. Marquez shares her concerns about not having reasonable access to healthy food and exercise. Lively discussion by the residents and students generates the idea of converting an adjacent abandoned lot into a community garden. Ms. Marquez engages other professionals, including the city’s urban planning officer, the high-rise community board members, and faculty and students from the following university programs: public health, dieticians, and nursing. They get approval for the community garden proposal and seek donations from area hospitals, banks, the university, and a local hardware store.
The community members partner with the university’s Day of Service and local church members to clean up and remove debris from the abandoned lot. They break ground and build the fences, walkways, and irrigation system. Once ready, local donations include soil, fertilizer, mulch, and gardening tools. Interested residents sign up for a designated plot to plant, tend, and harvest. Their efforts are so successful that they convert an unused storage shed into a farmers’ market stand to sell their produce. The outcome of their efforts is increased access to fresh and healthy food for the all the community residents.
Emboldened by their success, the residents (with support of community partners) convert one of the first-floor common areas into a small fitness center with a treadmill, two stationary bicycles, and some free weights. Public health students recommend that they partner with the university exercise science program students to offer fitness screening and develop an exercise program for residents who obtain medical clearance to participate in a physical activity program. One of the residents is a retired yoga instructor and offers to provide weekly classes for the residents.
Discussion Questions
- Why was it important to have interprofessional collaboration for this initiative? How might the outcome have differed if the efforts only included one partner (discipline)?
- Identify the leadership approach that Ms. Marquez used in developing the community garden. Contrast this leadership style with others she could have used. (Refer to the discussion of team leadership in Chapter 13.)
