NURS 4210 Week 3 Windshield Survey and Vulnerable Population Paper

NURS 4210 – Role of the Nurse Leader in Population Health (Walden University)

Week 3 Assignment (2026): Windshield Survey and Vulnerable Population Analysis

Course and Assessment Positioning

Course: NURS 4210 – Role of the Nurse Leader in Population Health (Walden RN–BSN)
Assessment: Week 3 Assignment – Windshield Survey / Community Assessment (individual written assignment)
Level: Upper-division undergraduate (population health and leadership focus)
Length: 3–4 page paper (approximately 1,000–1,200 words), excluding title page, photos, and references
Timing: Week 3, early in the course, before later population-health leadership and practicum presentation tasks

This brief reproduces the core structure of current NURS 4210 Week 3 instructions that require completion of a windshield survey, identification of a vulnerable population, and nursing conclusions based on a community health assessment.

Assignment Overview

You will conduct a windshield survey of a selected section of your community and use your observations, supported by additional data, to identify a vulnerable population and its available resources. You will then draw initial conclusions about community strengths and needs from the perspective of a nurse leader in population health.

Learning Outcomes Assessed

• Conduct a focused community assessment using observational methods (windshield survey) appropriate to population health nursing.

• Identify a vulnerable population in the community and describe the social determinants contributing to its vulnerability.

• Recognize community strengths and existing resources that can support population health improvement.

• Communicate findings and nursing inferences clearly in a structured written assignment.

Task Instructions

1. Select a Section of Your Community

• Choose a specific section of your community to survey, such as a neighborhood where your identified practicum population lives, works, studies, or receives services.

• Consider aligning the area with your practicum focus population and health problem if you are completing the practicum component, such as obesity in school-age children, vaccine uptake in toddlers, or hypertension in older adults.

2. Conduct a Windshield Survey

• Drive or walk through the selected area at least once, preferably at a time of day when community activity is visible.

• Make written notes about what you observe. Where possible, take photographs that illustrate key features such as housing, businesses, health resources, or recreational spaces. Do not include identifiable images of individuals without permission.

• Pay attention to population-health–relevant conditions, including housing quality, transportation access, availability of healthy food, signs of poverty or affluence, schools, clinics, places of worship, and evidence of safety or crime.

3. Write Your Paper (3–4 pages)

a) Introduction to the Community (approximately ½ page)

• Provide the name of the community and the specific section surveyed.

• Include brief historical or contextual details that help frame the area, such as demographic changes, economic history, or known local issues.

b) Windshield Survey Findings (approximately 1–1.5 pages)

• Describe what you observed in the selected area, using clear subheadings if helpful (for example, Housing and Environment; Services and Resources; People and Activity; Safety and Cleanliness).

• Integrate a small number of photographs as appendices or embedded figures, with brief captions explaining what each image illustrates about the community context.

• Highlight observations relevant to population health, such as access to health-promoting resources, visible health risks, and signs of social or economic disadvantage.

c) Description of a Vulnerable Population and Available Resources (approximately 1–1.5 pages)

• Identify one vulnerable population present or likely present in this community section, such as low-income families, migrant workers, older adults living alone, recent immigrants, or people experiencing homelessness.

• Demographics: Describe salient demographic features of this population, including age, race or ethnicity, language, income, and education, using your observations and available local data.

• Social determinants of vulnerability: Explain which social determinants of health contribute to this group’s vulnerability, such as limited transportation, low income, unstable housing, limited health literacy, or barriers to primary care.

• Community strengths and resources: Identify formal and informal resources that could support this population, including clinics, community centers, food banks, faith organizations, schools, or neighborhood associations.

d) Conclusions Based on Nursing Assessment of the Community (approximately ½–1 page)

• Summarize what you, as a nurse leader in population health, conclude about this community section and the vulnerable population based on your windshield survey and analysis.

• Identify at least one community strength that could be leveraged and one area of concern or gap that may require further assessment or intervention.

• Briefly indicate how these conclusions could inform future population health planning or your practicum project.

Paper Requirements

• Length: 3–4 pages of narrative text (approximately 1,000–1,200 words), excluding title page, photos, and references.

• Format: Use your program’s required academic writing style and organize the paper with clear headings aligned to the sections above.

• Sources: Although the windshield survey is based on your own observations, include at least 2–3 current scholarly or credible sources to support discussion of vulnerability, social determinants, or community health (for example, Healthy People 2030 or local health department reports).

• Academic integrity: Do not copy from posted NURS 4210 sample papers or reuse assignments from other courses.

• Submission: Submit the paper, including any photos, via the NURS 4210 Week 3 Assignment link by the end of Week 3 as indicated in the course schedule.

Week 3 Windshield Survey / Community Assessment Rubric (2026)

Introduction to the Community (10%)
Clear identification of the community and surveyed area with relevant context and rationale.

Windshield Survey Findings (30%)
Detailed, organized observations clearly linked to population health, with appropriate use of photos.

Vulnerable Population and Resources (30%)
Clear identification of a vulnerable population, explanation of contributing social determinants, and thorough description of community resources and strengths.

Nursing Conclusions About the Community (20%)
Thoughtful synthesis of observations, determinants, and resources with implications for population health nursing and future action.

Organization, Writing Quality, and Use of Evidence (10%)
Well-structured writing with appropriate use of current sources and accurate citation.

Nursing students who approach a windshield survey as more than a drive through town begin to notice patterns that clinic-based work can obscure, such as long distances to healthy food outlets or limited safe spaces for older adults to rest. A strong NURS 4210 Week 3 paper uses these observations, combined with basic demographic data, to identify a specific vulnerable population, explain the social determinants shaping its risk, and highlight community assets that could support future population health interventions (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2020).

From a nurse leadership perspective, windshield surveys also support early recognition of upstream factors that influence long-term health outcomes, including environmental safety, access to services, and community cohesion. Nurse leaders who systematically interpret observational data can advocate for targeted, population-focused interventions that align local resources with identified needs, strengthening both prevention efforts and community resilience (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021).

References

• Stanhope, M. and Lancaster, J. (2020) Foundations for Population Health in Community/Public Health Nursing. 5th edn. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/C2018-0-00765-8.

• Healthy People 2030 (2020) ‘Social determinants of health’. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health.

• Duncan, D. L. et al. (2022) ‘Population health in a global society: Preparing nurses for the future’, Nursing Forum, 57(3), pp. 339–346. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35394350/.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022) ‘PLACES: Local data for better health’. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/places.

• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2021) The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. Washington, DC: AACN. Available at: https://www.aacnnursing.org/Academic-Nursing/Essentials.

• World Health Organization (2022) Social Determinants of Health. Geneva: WHO. Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health