Table of Contents
Introduction
Oak Cliff Suburb is one of the neighborhoods in Dallas Texas that is considered as one of the oldest and it is located south of the Trinity River. According United States Census Conducted for 2016, the population in Oak Cliff for both Kiestwood and North Oak Cliff is estimated to be slightly below hundreds of thousands living there. In 1890 Oak Cliff City was incorporated. Oak Cliff neighborhood provides extra ordinary architecture that ranges from European bungalows to European cottages. This particular neighborhood is considered to have people mostly of Sub-Saharan African and Africa ancestry living in it compared to any neighborhood in any state in the United States. Within its over 100 year history an estimated 1million people have been considered to live in this particular neighborhood. Although Oak Cliff city in Dallas Texas has been known particularly for the fabulous architecture and as a thriving metropolis, the neighborhood is known to experience an unfortunate rise in the rates of Sexually Transmitted diseases (STDs) including Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Herpes, Syphilis, Hepatitis B and C, and also HIV (“Gay activists respond to Vonciel Hill’s bigotry with #RevLOVE rally Saturday | Dallas Voice”, 2017).
According to Centre for Disease and Prevention (CDC) young people are estimated to make over a quarter of the population that is sexually active with estimated 20million new infections related to Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States. In Dallas Texas while individuals of all ages are affected by the Sexually Transmitted Diseases, these diseases immensely affects young people between ages 13 and 19. On completion of a windshield survey of Oak Cliff neighborhood which is located in south of the River Trinity in Dallas Texas. It is very obvious that different communities live in this particular neighborhood with different ancestries and ethnicities and therefore a distinct cultural tradition. In this particular neighborhood most residents identify with the Mexican ancestry, there are also people with Sub-Saharan African ancestry and with others with African ancestry. It is also important to note that some percentages of people living in Oak Cliff were born in other countries. Oak Cliff in Dallas Texas comprises of wealthy, middle to low income with other people living below the poverty line. In some of the gated communities that are considered wealthy the surrounding areas have higher poverty rates. Some areas in Oak Cliff in Dallas Texas are extremely of low income which makes it one of the lowest income American neighborhoods. Most of the working population in Oak Cliff is employed in laborer and manufacturing jobs while others work in service jobs and in fast foods restaurants, with few of the people working in professional occupations. Through the windshield survey I also noted that most of the people residing in Oak Cliff get to work using buses, cars and trains. It is also important to note the fact that most of the populations living in the area speak English while some other people speak Spanish.
Kiestwood is considered to be part of Oak Cliff and it provides plenty of vintage charisma. The population in Kiestwood is estimated to be at 939 according to the United States Census of 2016. 2.78 are approximated as the size of the average household. An estimated $65,624 is the median income for each household with families of an estimated 8.8percent living below the federal poverty line. White Collar workers are approximately 64.5percent while blue collar workers account for only 21.4percent and the rest of the population work as farm or industry workers. North Oak Cliff on the other hand is considered as the center of upscale planned communities however it fell into a decline economically as in the 20th century middle class people shifted to the suburbs. The estimated population in North Oak Cliff is 73,206 according to the United States Census of 2016. In addition 3.09 accounts for the size of the average household with $41,722 estimated as the median income for every household.
Families living below the federal poverty line is approximated as 23.4percent with 32.4percent accounting for the population ages above 16. White collar workers account for 43percent, blue collar workers account for 37.9percent while 19percent work as farm and industry workers (“North Oak Cliff”, 2017).
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, social determinants involve overlapping economic systems and social structures which include the physical environment, social environment, societal factors and health services (“Social determinants of health and STD prevention: a CDC perspective – Des Moines University”, 2017). In Oak Cliff suburbs of Dallas Texas, social determinants that create vulnerability among most adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 include place of residence, education, gender, socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity among other factors. Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas Texas has very many free testing centers for sexually transmitted diseases which offer free of charge testing for young adolescents in this particular community. Several Sexually transmitted disease programs have also been established to help with the increase in reported cases of STD (“Texas DSHS HIV/STD Program – Reports”, 2017).
Conclusions
Adolescents aged between 13 and 19 in the Oak Cliff neighborhood present several health care needs. Considering the fact that this target population resides in a thriving suburb the vulnerability for these adolescents becomes even more compelling. Most of the target population lives in families that have high income and adequate access to quality healthcare and therefore it is possible to ensure that the rise in reported STD cases in the area is properly addressed. Nurses should attempt to provide quality and adequate health care and also prevention to the different community groups residing in Oak Cliff (Ompad, Galea, Caiaffa & Vlahov, 2017).
According to the findings of the windshield survey it is important to note that even though several free STD testing clinics are seen almost everywhere, more should be done with regards to providing information on prevention rather than just free testing. In community nursing, the nurses encounter several challenges however nurses should obtain additional information about the target population and community they serve.
We can do it today.
- Gay activists respond to Vonciel Hill’s bigotry with #RevLOVE rally Saturday | Dallas Voice. (2017). Dallasvoice.com.
- North Oak Cliff. (2017). Neighborhoods.dmagazine.com.
- Ompad, D., Galea, S., Caiaffa, W., & Vlahov, D. (2017). Social Determinants of the Health of Urban Populations: Methodologic Considerations.
- Social determinants of health and STD prevention: a CDC perspective – Des Moines University. (2017). Des Moines University.
- Texas DSHS HIV/STD Program – Reports. (2017). Dshs.texas.gov.