Myw5241

Community Needs Assessment: Lycoming County

Lycoming County is located in North East Central Pennsylvania. In terms of land

area, it is the biggest county in Pennsylvania.

1.

Demographics

Lycoming County

Median age of the population 40.9

% Population age 65 years
16.5
and over
Population per square mile 95
Estimated population by
Male 57,242
race or age (number of
Female 59,505
people and %)
Total 116,747
% Population with income
14.2
below poverty level
Per capita personal income
$35,283
% Labor force that is
7.7
unemployed
% Population eligible for
16.9
medical assistance

Comparison of county and state data:

Pennsylvania
39.9
15.6
284.8
Male 6,214,562
Female 6,528,324
Total 12,742,886
12.6
$42,291
7.9
17.1

The population per square mile is lower in Lycoming County than the state of
Pennsylvania because Lycoming County is one of the larger counties in the state,
allowing for more land and dispersion of the population than in other smaller
crowded counties.

Child Health
Lycoming County
Pennsylvania
% Low birth weight
8.2%
8.2 %
% With no prenatal care 28.5%
28.3 %
in the first trimester
% Births to mother
2.4%
2.3%
under 18

Comparison of county and state data:
The Child Health data for Lycoming County and the state of Pennsylvania were very
similar with little to no difference.

Mortality
Lycoming County
Pennsylvania
Under 5 years of age
Perinatal Conditions
Perinatal Conditions
N/A
Birth Defects
5-24 years of age
Accidents
Accidents
Suicide
Assault (Homicide)
25-44 years of age
Suicide
Accidents
Accidents
Cancer
45-64 years of age
Cancer
Cancer
Diseases of Heart
Diseases of Heart
65 years and older
Diseases of Heart
Diseases of Heart
Cancer
Cancer

Comparison of county and state data:
The leading causes of death are the same for Lycoming County and Pennsylvania
early in life (under 5 years of age) and later in life (45-64 years of age and 65
years+). However, the causes of death vary amongst the 5-24 years of age and 25-44
years of age groups with Lycoming County having suicide as an alarming rate of
death compared to those for the entire state of Pennsylvania.

Hospitals/Nursing
Lycoming County
Pennsylvania
Homes
Total number of
4
255
hospitals
Beds per 1000
2.3
2.6
Admissions per 1000
114.3
126.9
Average semi-private
$755
$1538
daily room rate
Total number of nursing 8
713
homes


Comparison of county and state data:
Given the difference in size, the hospital/nursing home data for Lycoming County
and Pennsylvania are similar. The only notable difference is the average semi-
private daily room rate for the state is nearly double the price of within the county.

D.
Adult Behavioral
Lycoming County
Pennsylvania
Nationwide
Health Risk Factors
% Diabetes
9%
9%
8.7%
% Obese
33.6%
29%
27.6%
% Overweight
40.8%
36%
36.2%
% with no health
18.5%
16%
15%
insurance
% consume fruits
N/A
85%
76.5%
and vegetables less
than 5 times per
day
% that did not
27.4%
26%
23.1%
participate in
physical activities
in the past month

E. The data is similar amongst county, state, and nation in most factors. However,
the county percentages for obese and overweight are higher. Similarly, the
percentages with no health insurance and the percentages that did not participate in
physical activities in the past month are also higher in the county; which could
explain why the BMI levels are also increased. Therefore, the BMI levels (% obese
and % overweight) of the county are an area of need.

2. Area of need and needs assessment:


Area of Concern
Based on our assessment of the county, the area of concern to focus on in our
needs assessment in a more thorough/complete assessment of the
community health is the BMI of Lycoming County residents. This is due to the
fact that the obese and overweight percentages were increased compared to
the state and nation BMI data. Furthermore, referring to the County Health
Profiles, Diseases of Heart is among the leading cause of death for the 45-65+
year olds. This could correlate with the rates of obese and overweight people
in Lycoming County because obesity is a factor in heart disease. Perhaps if
obesity is of main concern within the county, both obesity and heart disease
rates will decrease.


Target Population
Obesity is the condition of having too much body fat. It is a problem that is
faced at all ages: early in life and later in life. Obesity later in life is generally
due to a life of poor health decisions; therefore it is imperative that good
health is instilled among the young population. By doing so, they are able to
grow up with good health practices that will help them avoid obesity later in
life, as well as all of the problems that are associated with obesity, specifically
heart disease seen within the community. With that said, the target
population of our needs assessment is the youth of Lycoming County from
middle school to high school aged children because they are at risk to
become obese.

Overall goal of the assessment:
To lower the rates of obesity in Lycoming County by introducing and
implementing healthy lifestyles at a young age to be practiced and continued
throughout life.

3 specific objectives:
To teach students the importance of proper nutrition by requiring that every
middle and high school in Lycoming County to teach all students a wellness
and nutrition course: a beginners course in seventh grade during middle
school and advanced in tenth grade of high school
To gather data on the students before the course is taught in middle school
through a food choice survey and gather survey data again after the course
ends as well as throughout progression into high school to monitor the
effects of the course on healthy lifestyle choices
To gather anthropometric data on students yearly to see if the wellness and
nutrition class is positively affecting the health of the students because if they
can improve health habits at an early age then they are on the right path to
avoid obesity later in lifewhich is a prevalent problem for Lycoming County
adults as made evident by the data presented

Plans on how to reach the target population:
Inform the target audience in an interactive classroom setting

Information to collect through tools (in bold):
Food preferences through survey conducted before and after the course
o Typical diet, exercise, sleep
Anthropometric data of the target population through annual laboratory
measurements
o Body Mass Index measurements calculated by gathering height and
weight data
Improve the nutritional knowledge of the target population through
teaching

o Course that teaches the target population the importance of a healthy

lifestyle but also keeps the course fun through cooking demos and
tasting. It is important to make sure that whatever faculty member is
teaching the course for the school is qualified to do so with proper
training perhaps lead by a registered dietitian in addition to insight
and input from the schools cafeteria dietitian.