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PEDIATRIC POPULATION

Pediatric Population
Course:
Institution:

PEDIATRIC POPULATION
Abstract
Pediatric population is a population composed of children, infants, and adolescents with a
trailing age limit of between birth and eighteen years of age. The age bracket is composed of the
most vulnerable group to chronic diseases. The pediatric population is composed of the larger
majority of most developing nations where the age group is mainly composed of people below
the age of 18 years of age. The age group, however, being the most important in the growth of a
nation is the most sensitive age group since they are all dependents as they are still under the care
of their parents. The pediatric population exists in all neighborhoods, and they exist in every
family that has children below 18 years of age. It is, however, unfortunate that there are no
geographical boundaries that separate the pediatric population from the other populations. The
community assessment was performed to identify some of the challenges facing the pediatric
population and to come up with solutions that will assist in overcoming the challenges. The
assessments results may widely assist in identifying trends of chronic diseases that mostly target
the pediatric population in different geographical areas of a community. The community
assessment was carried out during the school holiday breaks. The choice of the assessment
timeline is because a large number of the pediatric population from schools are in their homes
with their families. The assessment will be carried out for a duration of two weeks. The project
funding will largely rely on the municipalities for sponsorship since the data will assist in the
better planning of the council for the pediatric population. The assessment will attempt to
uncover the differences between what published sources say about the pediatric population and
actual research that has been carried out in a known community surrounding.

PEDIATRIC POPULATION
Data gathering (Existing information)
In the year 2015, the United States of America had a total population of 308,745,538.
29.6% of this population is made up of the pediatric population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015).
However small this may seem as a percentage compared to the remaining portion, this would
simply mean that the population of the United States stood was in a ratio of 1: 3.7 in July 2015.
In the year 2015, CDC released a report on citing a tremendous increase in behaviors
that put teens in a state of risk. The report cited that most of the behaviors were cultivated in the
early stages of the pediatric stage and later become catastrophes as the transition to adulthood
occurs. The survey uncovered that even if cigarette smoking had drastically reduced from 28% in
1991 to the current figure 11% in 2015, there was a sudden rise in e-cigarettes smoking within
the pediatric population. The CDC, however, is not only aimed at the condemnation of the youth
it offers several remedies that will help reduce the elevated state of risk behaviors among the
pediatric population especially the adolescents. Some of the measures include identifying and
monitoring critical events that are health based, the behavior of the youth and related policies.
The CDC seeks to make a summary and apply the findings obtained from the research to
increase how effective the measures become and also to ensure monitoring of the progress to
achieve the set goals of health standards. (Survey, 2016)
The Healthy People 2010 was a nationwide promotion that was spearheaded by the
Department of Human Service and Health in a bid to help prevent the spread of diseases. The
campaign was designed and put in place to act as a framework that would help improve the
health of the people who dwell in the United States of America in the 21st century. The
promotions main aim was to increase the quality and years of a healthy life to eliminate health

PEDIATRIC POPULATION
discrepancies and therefore serve as a measure of progress for the dwellers of the United States.
This research will assist In raising the mortality rate and putting the correct measures in place to
ensure that there was longer and more qualitative life that came from the pediatric population
that is the most affected by the population mortality rate. The National Center for health statistics
would assist in data collection from different sources and analyze the obtained data to obtain
trends in health status of a population based on geographical classifications and subgroups of the
population such as the pediatric population. (Statistics, 2015)
From research conducted by Virginia Rauh a professor of population and family
health, it is evident that children who are raised up in poor homes or neighborhoods are likely
possible to give out toxic stress. She explains that if there is an interaction between the toxic
stress and toxins such as pollution of the air may lead to emotional disorders. However, Virginia
explains that children exposed to toxic pressure can slowly and gradually recover through
responsive parenting and child care of high quality. She points to the fact that most of the parents
who are low-income earners find it hard to seek support from their childrens partnership with
them. The problem to this problem, however, is to alleviate the standards of living for parents to
save most of our children from toxic stress.

(Columbia-University, 2016)

Activities created by the universal inclusion of the youth will most of the time stand up
over activities that are forcibly brought in for uptake. An important aspect to note is that the
pediatric population is one of the most dynamic types of population and the universal inclusion
of all of its members will lead to a more prosperous society in the making since everyone feels
involved in the day to day activities. (Family, 2002)
Data Generation (Non-Existent Data)

PEDIATRIC POPULATION
Windshield surveys were one of the methods used to collect data during the community
assessment. The villages through which the pediatric population lives are recent homes with not
more than an approximated 20 years stay. The age of the homes can be well explained by the
recently placed iron sheets in most of the homes within the surrounding. The recreational
facilities in the community are scarcely populated this is the reason for the few recreational areas
in the community. The animal parks are found on the outskirts of the community while the
stadiums have a central location within the town. From the scarce population found in the area
there is plenty of space within for the people of the community to move freely without anybodys
questioning and therefore the business premises are set far away from the homes. The
approximate distance from the homes to the business centers is 3 to 4 kilometers. Neighborhood
hangouts are not totally elevated except for the few bar which open late in the evening most of
the joints are shops and trading stores as the community is deeply rooted in trade and they
believe that their great grandparents were the best merchants of the olden days. The community,
however, uses cars as the main means of transportation despite the scarcity and low population
density. The diesel powered machines steer the town and assist the traders carry out their normal
day to day activities without transportation hitches and most importantly to keep time for
ferrying their goods from one place to another using their automobiles. The streets and sidewalks
are made according to the current plan structure of the modern roads while lighting is a small
problem, especially during the night. The community is made up of mixed religions but mainly
the Islamic religion and the Christians since both the mosque and the church can fairly be seen
on entrance into the community gate.
Participant observation was also used to collect data for the pediatric population. From
the observations made the community is rapidly growing due to the heavy trading activities that

PEDIATRIC POPULATION
occur in the area and the high demand for jobs in the trading stores. There are averagely almost
three children in every household as a result of demand for labor in the households and also in
the places of work. There is, therefore, a rapid growth in the developmental cycle of the pediatric
population. It is evident that the peer to peer bonds of interaction are very strong considering that
a lot of businesses in the area are community owned. The ownership belongs to social groups
that have united to make their lives better by undertaking business activities that will elevate
their living standards from the current state. The street families are a rare thing to find in the
community almost a term that is almost forgotten. This disappearance of street families is as a
result of the fact that the peer interactions assist in strengthening families and such a case
avoiding marriage separations in the community which is a major cause of street families in the
modern day world. There is a general regard and respect for the peers in the society this is
evident by the fact that most places of leisure are made up of a specific age group depending on
the peer group of ones association. There is a general feeling of safety in the community. From
the overhead headlights that light the streets at night to the metallic gates that demarcate the
small sub-villages to keep track who enters and who leaves the residential area of the
community. There are regular police patrols in the community as a result of several governmental
officials residing in the community. Security is one of the issues which has fostered growth in the
community and which without no community can prosper or make a stride in matters
development.
Interviews with several societal leaders in the community revealed that to maintain the
current community standards training was not only taught in the school compounds but on each
and every place where the interaction of people was present. The training places included places
of refreshments, homes, schools, religious places and even peer to peer events. The societal

PEDIATRIC POPULATION
leaders attributed the strengths of the community to the virtues that most people of the
community guarded heavily deep within their hearts and the unity that they displayed whenever
an occasion arose. However, it was pointed out that the community had a strong religious
background a fact that may have easily led to the present nature of the community. The pediatric
population are taught the importance of religion in their tender ages and therefore departing from
this teaching is quite hard. The strong social ties within the peers assist in the track keeping of
different groups together and foster unity. The teachers, however, pointed out a fact that the
understaffing in schools was a drawback to the education in the society. Teachers reported that
every school was proposed to have a ratio of one teacher to ten students whereas the current
ratios stood one teacher to twenty students. The community members were however concerned
with the population growth and the rates of pollution which they deem as a future hazard if the
matter remained as it is without corrective action. The health infrastructure in the community is,
however, appealing as most of the facilities operate on a 24/7 basis. The night shift is for
emergency cases which may happen at night. The 24/7 operation is however not applicable to
medicine dispatch chemists as most of them only operate during the daytime when most of the
people are operating their day to day activities. There is a cancer facility in the community that
was set up in a bid to curb the rising threat of cancer diseases in the community. The facilitys
aim was to cut down the costs of people suffering from the illness in the area and to provide
convenience to them to attend their chemotherapy sessions. The facilities are a breakthrough
especially for parents that have the pediatric population with them as this is the age where most
chronic diseases and infections happen.
Focus groups are small groups composed of six to twelve people, they proved useful during the
process of the community assessment. During the process, two focus groups were approached to

PEDIATRIC POPULATION
have a fully comprehensive study of the inhabitants of the community. The focus groups were
composed of six people each. From a total of 12 people, ten people described their satisfaction
with the services they were receiving from the community. These services are inclusive of the
health care services for them and their children the sanitary conditions that provided a habitable
environment for the pediatric population and the good system of education that the community
experiences. 9 out of the 12 chosen for the focus groups commended the efforts of their leaders
to ensure good transportation means in the community. The focus group explained that more
needs to be improved particularly in the rural roads that link the main roads in the community
outskirts. The focus groups pointed out the fact that the authorities had played a tremendous role
in ensuring the security mechanisms of the community. The pediatric population is the most
affected population when insecurity is present in any given society. They suffer the most as they
experience psychological torture an issue that may lead to them being affected in their studies. In
the study carried out by CDS it can be observed that some adolescents are also involved in drugs
a situation that may lead them to indulge in theft (Survey, 2016) . There were concerns however
of particular groups of unemployed young adults that had started to sprout up in liquor joints
continuously for 3months.
Data Interpretation
It is well evident that a comparison of collected data and existing data the pediatric
population has a significant proportion of the population of both the census and the community
assessment that took place. There is a big correlation between the population health and nutrition
standards and the mortality rate in both the community assessment and the data existing from
previous sources. The high mortality rate is attributed to poor sanitation and poor nutrition while

PEDIATRIC POPULATION
low mortality rates are as a result of good hygiene and proper nutrition. (Kannan
NAVANEETHAM, 2008)
There is a sharp difference however between the data generated and data gathered from
sources. The population assessment brought to light that there were very few or even
insignificant cases that associated the pediatric population with the use of drugs and indulging in
crime cases. The assessment is contrary to the CDC report that explains that the significant
number of youth were engaging in theft and substance abuse.
The strengths of the community are in the business and trade set up which is a source of
livelihood for the community, the respect for peer groups and the cultivation of correct moral
standards by the clergy and in schools. However, the society needs an improvement in
infrastructure mainly minor roads that are in constant use by the community members each and
every day.
Conclusion
The assessment carried out although not in full correlation to the existing published information
is a clear indicator that more attention and focus should be directed to on the pediatric
population. This attention should be regardless of the geographical location, gender or age but
for the well-being and growth of our society.

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PEDIATRIC POPULATION

Works Cited
Columbia-University. (2016, May 10). Unequal Stress. Retrieved from
https://www.mailman.columbia.edu:
https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/unequal-stresshow-poverty-toxic-children%E2%80%99s-brain
Family, H. (2002). Youth Involvement in Evaluation and Research. Issues and
Opportunities in out of school Time Evaluation, 8.
Kannan NAVANEETHAM, A. D. (2008). POVERTY, NUTRITION AND MORTALITY: . Paris.
Statistics, C.-N. C. (2015, November 6). Healthy People - Healthy People 2010.
Retrieved from www.cdc.gov:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/healthy_people/hp2010.htm
Survey, N. Y. (2016, June 09). CDC releases Youth Risk Behaviours. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov: http://www.cdc.gov/features/yrbs/
U.S. Census Bureau, 2. C. (2015, July 05). American FactFinder Results. Retrieved
August 05, 2016, from factfinder.census.gov:
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?
pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&src=pt