Population Health Poverty Simulation ✓ Solved

N421 Population Health Poverty Simulationn421 Population Health Nurs

The assignment involves conducting a poverty simulation focused on population health, specifically examining low-income families’ access to nutritious food and transportation challenges. Students will select a grocery store, research public transit routes in that area, plan and budget a week's worth of healthy meals for a family of six within SNAP benefits, simulate grocery shopping, and analyze their experiences and challenges related to environment, transportation, nutrition, and socioeconomic factors.

The process includes completing a household profile using the Illinois DHS SNAP Calculator, developing a realistic menu plan, simulating grocery shopping with a receipt, and reflecting on the impact of climate, transportation logistics, budget constraints, pandemic effects, and nutritional considerations. The assignment aims to deepen understanding of how social determinants influence health outcomes among low-income populations and how these factors affect healthcare delivery.

Sample Paper For Above instruction

The poverty simulation assignment provides a comprehensive perspective on the multifaceted challenges faced by low-income families in achieving adequate nutrition and maintaining health within constrained resources. This experiential activity enables nursing students to empathize with the socio-economic barriers that influence health outcomes, fostering a deeper understanding of social determinants of health (World Health Organization, 2010). By engaging in this simulation, students gain insights into the complex interplay between environment, transportation, food security, and socioeconomic status that shapes the health of vulnerable populations.

The first component involves utilizing the Illinois DHS SNAP Calculator to approximate monthly food assistance benefits based on a realistic household profile. Setting the household parameters, such as a family of six with a gross monthly income of $2800 and expenses like rent and dependent care, students can determine the weekly SNAP allotment. This step underscores the role of social safety nets in supporting low-income families and highlights constraints that influence dietary choices (Nicklett et al., 2017). Understanding these benefits contextualizes the planning and budgeting process that follows.

Planning a week's worth of nutritious meals within the SNAP budget requires careful consideration of dietary adequacy, cultural preferences, and realistic serving sizes. The students must create a menu that includes three meals and two snacks per person, ensuring no one skips meals, and that the plan aligns with available resources. This exercise emphasizes nutritional knowledge and resourcefulness, illustrating how families must often prioritize affordability over variety or nutritional optimality (Gundersen & Ziliak, 2015). The menu planning also requires integrating cultural and personal food preferences, maintaining meal appeal and cultural relevance.

The next phase involves selecting a grocery store along the chosen public transit route and simulating shopping for the planned meals. Students will record the items purchased, the costs, and generate a receipt, thereby mimicking real-world grocery shopping under financial constraints. Considering transportation methods, travel time, and accessibility challenges exposes students to logistical barriers faced by low-income households. For example, relying on public transit can pose challenges such as limited store hours, long wait times, or difficulty transporting bulky items, which influences shopping frequency and food freshness (Barnett et al., 2018).

Reflections are integral to the assignment, prompting students to analyze their reactions to the activity and its implications for patient care. They are asked to consider climate effects, transportation difficulties, shopping with children, COVID-19 impacts on food supply chains, and the nutritional quality of the food purchased. These insights reinforce the importance of holistic, patient-centered care that accounts for socioeconomic and environmental factors affecting health behaviors and outcomes. For example, transportation barriers can hinder consistent healthcare access and adherence to medical regimens (Mullins et al., 2017).

Furthermore, students will explore challenges specific to public transportation, including route complexity, schedule limitations, and safety concerns, gaining practical knowledge of how these factors shape daily life for low-income families. Recognizing such barriers enables healthcare professionals to advocate for policies promoting better transit infrastructure and community support systems (Syed et al., 2013). By analyzing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic disruptions on food access and supply chains, students appreciate the increased vulnerabilities faced by economically disadvantaged populations, emphasizing the need for resilient social support networks.

In conclusion, this activity enhances understanding of the social determinants of health and equips future nurses to advocate for equitable access to nutritious food and reliable transportation. The exercise fosters empathy, critical thinking, and service-oriented perspectives essential in addressing health disparities among low-income populations. It underscores that health promotion involves addressing environmental, economic, and social barriers that influence individual and community well-being.

References

• Barnett, M. L., et al. (2018). Transportation barriers to health care access among vulnerable populations: A review. Public Health Reports, 133(2), 243-251.
• Gundersen, C., & Ziliak, J. P. (2015). Childhood food insecurity in the U.S.: Trends, causes, and policies. Advances in Nutrition, 6(1), 102-113.
• Mullins, R. R., et al. (2017). Transportation barriers and health outcomes in low-income populations. Health & Social Work, 42(1), 34-42.
• Nicklett, E. J., et al. (2017). Food assistance programs and health outcomes among low-income populations. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 52(2), 273-280.
• Syed, S. T., et al. (2013). Transportation barriers to health care access: Findings from the Health Care Disparities Collaborative. Journal of Community Health, 38(4), 648-657.
• World Health Organization. (2010). A conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of health. Commission on Social Determinants of Health.