The community is Plano, TX 75075 in Collin County
First, you will choose part of your community to survey. Part of this project involves collecting county data, but for Parts 1 & 2, you
will choose a smaller area to survey. When/if sharing data in that portion of the project, you are encouraged to provide city data (i.e.
– population demographics, health services, area schools, etc.). If you are in a large city, such as San Antonio, Cincinnati, or Tampa,
you may narrow your initial survey for Parts 1 & 2 down to a smaller section of the city, although you might want to survey other
parts of the city as well, to get a sense of the city as a whole and fit that neighborhood or population in its context.
Sometimes, the best survey can be a combination of walking and driving. You might survey the whole city or area in a vehicle, then
use a walking survey to look closely at the area you’re most interested in. You’ll see different things and more detail on foot; you’ll
cover more ground and get a broader perspective from a vehicle. Also, consider how the time of day, week day versus weekend, and
the season will affect your survey. You may want to repeat your survey more than once in order to capture the differences between
community conditions or activities at different times.
As you assess each area consider the impact on the health of the community and potential community needs (intervention). For
example:
• The effect of the physical environment; contamination of air or water; safe sidewalks for walking; or the quality of housing and
potential impact on health outcomes.
• Consider the implications of reduced access to health care services, food, or emergency care.
• Consider the implications of educational and work/economic opportunities.
• Consider the impact of social determinants on health outcomes (for example: relationship between older homes in the
community and high rates of lead exposure in children under the age of 5).
Think about individual behavior, health beliefs/values or perspectives and the effect on the implementation of health
promotion and disease prevention strategies?
• Observe where and when people “hang out” and their behavior. Are kids playing in the street due to lack of parks/recreation
facilities or are the parks/recreation areas unsafe (observe who is “hanging out” in the parks/recreational facilities).
