Community Health Paper
C228/VWT Task 1
By: Ericka Barrera
November 20, 2015

A.) Identification of Community

Depending on how you drive around, LA County can look very different in various parts of the community. As California’s largest county, with 10,116,705 people in the county, it is not hard to imagine that there are vast differences in even a localized area (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000-2013). With Hispanics making up almost half the population, the remaining Whites, Asians and African Americans, as well as other cultures, lend to a very diverse community. You can be in a very affluent area and drive only a few short miles and be now surrounded by run-down buildings, homeless people on the streets and poverty-stricken …show more content…

There will also be members of the community who require special needs and extra assistance in times of a disaster. These include the elderly, pregnant woman or parents with newborns, post-surgical patients, people with special dietary needs, people with physical, sensory or cognitive disabilities and individuals with no access to transport. Educating the community about disaster preparedness is very important as LA County’s large population can be susceptible to mass chaos.

B3. Neighborhood/Community Safety Inventory

There are many safety hazards that can be noted around LA County. One of the biggest known problems is air pollution. Los Angeles is certainly known for its smog and on any given day, it can actually be seen throughout the community. Being that LA County has such a large population; the amount of traffic on the LA roads is substantial. It is reported that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in LA County was reported as unhealthy for 95 days in 2011 (Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, 2013). There are also large bodies of water, the Pacific Ocean being the largest, that are in and around the community and they pose other safety hazards such as drowning, tsunamis and even shark attacks.
Other neighborhood safety concerns is the amount of construction that happens