Worksheet – Windshield Survey for
General Considerations (Complete directly on this form)
Name: Click or tap here to enter text.
Your windshield survey should include a response to all the following items:
- Community Description
Name of city or town and state: Dallas, Texas (TX)
Nature of this community (rural, suburban, urban): Urban
Boundaries: natural and conceptual: Piney Woods of east Texas and Blackland Prairie’s Great Plains.
As you drove through the neighborhood or community, what was your general impression? Include 2-3 sentences:
There were many freeways and connections in the area, as Dallas is part of the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth metropolitan statistical area. There are many shops, libraries, jails, shopping centers, museums, parks, and other service areas in the community. - Demographics
Question Many Some None
Did the people you observed during your drive though appear healthy? ☐✓
☐
☐
Did you see people with obvious physical disabilities, such as those using walkers or wheelchairs? ☐
☐ ✓
☐
Did you see those with apparent mental or emotional disabilities? ☐
☐
☐ ✓
Did you observe people smoking tobacco products? ☐ ✓
☐
☐
Did you see pregnant women/adolescents? ☐ ✓
☐
☐
Did you see young women or men with strollers or young children? ☐ ✓
☐
☐
Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
Describe the general appearance of those you observed (thin, obese, fit, undernourished, etc.): The people were extremely varied, with some being underweight while others were overweight. Some seemed to work out while others did not.
Describe the dress of those you observed (unkempt, torn, appropriate, well-dressed, etc.): The dress was also mixed, running the gambit from formal business attire to relaxed clothes. There were a few people I noticed whose clothes seemed to be quite worn.
- The Environment
Question Many Some None
Did you observe housing that was run down or in need of repair? ☐
☐ ✓
☐
Was public housing observed? ☐
☐ ✓
☐
Was there public transit? ☐ ✓
☐
☐
Were there bus stops? ☐ ✓
☐
☐
Were there job opportunities nearby, such as factories, small businesses, or military installations? ☐ ✓
☐
☐
Were there unemployed people visible, such as homeless people? ☐
☐ ✓
☐
Did you see people congregating in groups on the street? ☐
☐ ✓
☐
Did you observe any children or adolescents out of school during the typical school hours? ☐
☐ ✓
☐
Did you observe any political signs? ☐ ✓
☐
☐
Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
What kinds of housing did you observe (detached homes, apartments, etc.)? There were many types of housing, including homes in more urban neighborhoods as well as apartment complexes.
Describe the general condition of the housing you observed: Most of the housing I observed was in pretty good condition. There were a few buildings that looked like they could use some maintenance.
Describe the forms of transportation you saw people using: I observed cars, DART buses, paratransit services, Dallas streetcar, and rideshares (e.g., Uber). I know there are also trains in use as well, but I did not directly observe them in the areas I drove around.
- Resources
Complete the table below with approximate numbers of health resources you observed when you drove through your community.
Health Resource # observed Health Resources # observed
Hospitals 2 Urgent Care Clinics 3
Community Clinics 3 Skilled nursing facilities 1
Family Planning Clinics 2 Mental health or counselling clinics 2
Generalist Doctors 10 Homeless or Abuse Shelters 4
Dentist offices 8 Public Health Department Office 1
Pharmacies 13 Substance Abuse Treatment Center N/A
Answer the following question using complete sentences.
Do these resources seem sufficient to address the kinds of problems that exist in this community?
I believe that Dallas County does have enough resources for medical and mental health care, even though I did not directly observe them all. For example, according to the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (2023) website, there is one primary care physician per 1,400 people, one dentist per 1,070 people, one mental health provider per 530 people, and one primary care provider other than a physician (e.g., nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical nurse specialists) per 720 people in Dallas County, Texas. For all of these clinical care health factors, the trend was improving, meaning there are more health care providers per person than there used to be (County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, 2023). - Services Related to Health
Question Many Some None
Did you see/smell evidence of anything that might make you suspicious of ground, water, or air pollutants? ☐
☐
☐✓
Did you observe poor road conditions with potholes, or poor drainage? ☐
☐✓
☐
Are there adequate traffic lights, signs, sidewalks, and curbs? ☐✓
☐
☐
Was there handicapped access to buildings, sidewalks, and streets? ☐✓
☐
☐
Did you observe recreational facilities, playgrounds, and/or facilities like the YMCA? ☐✓
☐
☐
Were children playing in the streets, alleys, yards, or parks? ☐
☐✓
☐
Did you see any restaurants? ☐✓
☐
☐
Was there any evidence of nuisances such as ants, flies, mosquitoes, or rodents, or stray animals observed? ☐
☐
☐✓
Answer the following question using complete sentences.
What types of restaurants do you see and do they seem sufficient to address the needs of this community? There were many different restaurants with a lot of variety, such as steak houses, Chinese and Japanese restaurants, places to get Italian, Mexican, Greek, etc. In fact, I observed more restaurants than anything else I observed during my travels throughout the area. There were also fast food restaurants everywhere, so I believe there are plenty of options to meet the community’s needs.
- Social Resources
Question Many Some None
Did you observe any group efforts in the neighborhood to improve the living conditions or the neighborhood? ☐
☐
☐✓
How many churches, synagogues, and other places of worship did you observe? ☐✓
☐
☐
Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
Describe the general types of churches, synagogues, and other places of worship you observed.
There were many churches, cathedrals, and chapels, while I also observed some mosques and synagogues. It seemed there was a place of worship on every street corner.
Describe interactions observed among family or friends during survey. Is more than one generation present?
There were at least two generations present in many of the people and families I observed: parents and their children. In fact, the family unit (mom, dad, one or more children) was the most recognized unit I noticed. There were quite a few families that had one or more grandparents as well, making it three generations.
Were children out playing and if so were they appropriately supervised?
Most of the children I saw were with their parents or teachers (such as when I traveled around schools, I saw many kids playing outside on the playground). I did not really see any young children unsupervised, although I did notice a few adolescents walking around the neighborhood in groups with their friends.
Describe any observations that made you suspicious of social problems, such as graffiti, evidence of gang activity, juvenile delinquency, or drug or alcohol abuse?
I did see some graffiti, and as for the adolescents I observed, it is possible they were involved in gangs. It was difficult for me to determine. However, I did see them smoking cigarettes, while a few were drinking from suspicious bottles (maybe alcohol?).
- Aggregates or Vulnerable Populations Observed
Which aggregates or vulnerable groups did you observe during your survey? Many Some None
Infants and Children ☐✓
☐
☐
Adolescents ☐✓
☐
☐
Seniors ☐
☐✓
☐
Those living in poverty ☐
☐✓
☐
Those who are homeless ☐
☐✓
☐
Pregnant women or adolescents ☐✓
☐
☐
Recent immigrants ☐
☐
☐✓
Migrant Workers ☐
☐
☐✓
Those affected by apparent mental illness ☐
☐
☐✓
Disadvantaged ethnic groups ☐
☐✓
☐
Answer the following question using complete sentences.
Thoroughly describe what you observed about one aggregate or vulnerable group that you identified above (i.e. gender, behavior, age, appearance, etc.):
For the above questions, I put “none” for recent immigrants and migrant workers because I am not sure if I observed them or not. Similarly, it is difficult to determine if someone is suffering from a mental illness (I saw no obvious signs). However, there were some homeless and ethnic/racial minority groups in the community. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2022), Hispanics represent the largest majority in the county at 42.0%, with 28.6% of the population being White and 24.0% being African Americans.
- Health Problems and Health Behaviors Observed
Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
Describe positive health behaviors that you observed during your survey: walking and physical activity, playing in parks and other recreational activities, attending doctor’s appointments.
Describe unhealthy behaviors that you observed during your survey: smoking, drinking alcohol, possible drug use, unhealthy eating (e.g., fast food restaurants).
Describe health problems you observed during your survey or potential health problems that you would anticipate based on your observations: With unhealthy eating, I would expect a high prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and other cardiovascular diseases.
- Impression
Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
What is your overall impression of the community?
It is a huge and busy community that is built up.
What are the community’s outstanding strengths?
Its many products and services that are offered to its citizens.
What seem to be the community’s biggest challenges?
Abundance of fast food restaurants with a lack of healthy fresh food markets.
What was the most unexpected thing you observed?
I did see two kids run into one another on their bicycles (seemingly on purpose, though no one was hurt and they both laughed it off).
What aspect of the community really stood out for you?
I loved seeing the variety and “spice of life” in the community, as there were so many places to visit and things to enjoy.
- Analysis
Answer the following question using complete sentences.
Based on your assessment in the survey above, identify and discuss IN DETAIL one priority community health problem that a community health nurse could positively impact. Example: If you observed teens who were pregnant or had young children during your survey and felt this was a priority problem in your community, the diagnosis could be: Risk of unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls in XXXX community as evidence by observation of pregnant teens and teens caring for young children during windshield survey.
Risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 among adults in Dallas County, Texas community as evidence by observation of unhealthy eating habits during windshield survey.
References
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. (2023). Dallas, TX. https://www.countyhealthrankings.
org/explore-health-rankings/texas/dallas?year=2023
U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). Quick Facts: Dallas city, Texas. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/
fact/table/dallascitytexas/PST045222
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