| Course | HD440 Health Education Program Assessment and Planning |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Community assessment summary |
| Length | About 620 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health and Wellness |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HD440 Unit 3
One Picture a Planning Group Can Use: A Unit 3 Community Assessment Summary of Composite Ridley County
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HD440: Health Education Program Assessment and Planning
Unit 3 Community Assessment Summary
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Ridley County, its figures and its organizations are composite; the planning text, the review of interventions and the ecological model cited are real.
The People and the Place
Ridley County has about [31,000] residents spread across six small towns and farmland. The median age is [44], older than the state. Two state highways cross the county; most other roads are two-lane rural routes without lighting. The largest employers are a regional hospital, a feed mill, the school district and seasonal agriculture. Median household income is below the state's, and about [14] percent of residents live below the poverty line.
Health Picture
Leading causes of death are heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries. Among injuries, motor vehicle crashes stand out: in the latest five-year period, crashes with a drinking driver at the wheel killed [11] people who lived in the county and hurt [64] more. In the county rankings, the share of driving deaths involving alcohol is higher than the state's. The state health survey's regional estimate of binge drinking among adults is about [19] percent, slightly above the state. Overdose deaths have risen in the past two years. Adult obesity and smoking during pregnancy are above state levels. Falls among older residents send many to the emergency department.
Where the Crash Problem Concentrates
State crash reports place most alcohol-involved crashes on Friday and Saturday nights between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., on the two highways and on three rural roads leading out of the county seat, where most of the bars are. Drivers involved were mostly men aged 21 to 44. About a third had a prior driving-under-the-influence arrest.
Services and Capacity
The sheriff's office has [9] deputies covering the whole county, with one or two on patrol at night. The state highway patrol covers the highways. The county court runs a program for people convicted of driving under the influence, but ignition interlock orders are rarely followed up. There is no taxi service, and app-based rides are rarely available after 10 p.m.
The pattern is narrow in time and place, mostly weekend nights on a few roads near the bars, which means the county's limited enforcement and other resources could be concentrated where most of the harm occurs.
Community Concerns
In the hospital's survey, drug use was named as the top concern by most residents. Drinking and driving was rarely named, though focus groups with parents raised it when asked about teen safety. Tavern owners, interviewed informally, said they would support a ride program but worried about the cost.
Assets
A chapter of a national advocacy group against drunk driving, active for twenty years and led by a family who lost a son. A high school student group focused on safe driving. A county extension office with experience running community campaigns. A local radio station with a large rural audience. A tavern owners' association that meets monthly.
What the Summary Suggests
Several problems compete for attention, and the next unit sets priorities among them. For drinking and driving, the assessment shows a concentrated pattern, a set of evidence-based interventions with proven effects on crashes (Shults et al., 2001), and partners ready to help. Planning texts recommend that the summary present problems, capacity and assets together so that priorities reflect what the community can do, not just what is worst (Issel & Wells, 2018). The ecological model points to action at several levels, from drivers to bars to the court (McLeroy et al., 1988).
References
Issel, L. M., & Wells, R. (2018). Health program planning and evaluation: A practical, systematic approach for community health (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
McLeroy, K. R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A., & Glanz, K. (1988). An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Education Quarterly, 15(4), 351-377. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019818801500401
Shults, R. A., Elder, R. W., Sleet, D. A., Nichols, J. L., Alao, M. O., Carande-Kulis, V. G., Zaza, S., Sosin, D. M., & Thompson, R. S. (2001). Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 21(4 Suppl.), 66-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(01)00381-6
What the HD440 Unit 3 assignment asks for
The third unit usually asks for a summary of a community assessment that integrates data, community input, services and assets into one picture for planners. Summaries often run three to five pages with headed sections. Graders look for a concise profile of people and place, the main health problems with figures, attention to where and when problems concentrate, service capacity, community concerns and assets. Many sections reward a closing section that says what the summary suggests for priorities without choosing one yet. Present multiple problems fairly, since priority setting comes next. Cite a planning text and the evidence base for any intervention you mention, and keep the writing plain enough for a community audience.
How the HD 440 Unit 3 example is put together
The summary opens with the people and place: population, age, towns, roads, employers and income. A health picture follows with leading causes, crash figures, the county rankings measure, binge drinking, rising overdoses and other concerns. A section shows where crashes concentrate by time, road, age and prior arrests. Services and capacity cover the sheriff's staffing, the patrol, the court program and the lack of rides; the highlighted sentence turns the concentrated pattern into a planning insight. Community concerns and assets each get a section. The close notes several competing problems, cites evidence that crash interventions work and a planning text, and points to the ecological model.
HD440 Unit 3 rubric: what earns full points
Community assessment summaries tend to be graded on integration of sources, completeness of the picture, attention to patterns, inclusion of community voice and assets, and usefulness for planning. Integration usually decides most of the grade, since the unit asks what the sources say together rather than one at a time. Completeness rewards people, place, health, services, concerns and assets. Pattern credit goes to showing where and when a problem concentrates. Community voice and assets earn points when they are specific. Usefulness is rewarded when the summary points toward priorities without forcing one. Plain writing and correct citations complete what graders expect from a document planners will read.
Common HD440 Unit 3 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A frequent problem is a summary that repeats each source's findings in turn without combining them. Another is focusing only on needs and leaving out assets and community concerns. Some students choose a priority in this unit, which skips the next step. Others give county totals without showing where or when problems concentrate. Technical language makes the summary hard for community partners to use. If your assessment covers a different community, share the sources and findings, and they can be woven into one picture for planners. A summary longer than the sources it combines has lost its purpose. Forgetting to say which sources each section draws on makes the picture hard to verify.
Get an HD440 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Along with the Unit 3 prompt and rubric, include the community your HD440 section is assessing and any data sources you already pulled. The desk turns around a free first custom sample in 24-48h that states each finding first, benchmarks it properly, and ends with candidate problems left unranked unless your prompt asks otherwise. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More HD440 papers and BS in Health and Wellness samples
- HD440 Unit 1: Community Priorities Discussion Post
- HD440 Unit 2: Data Source Review
- HD440 Unit 4: Priority Setting Matrix
- HD440 Unit 5: Goal and Objective Set
- HD440 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- HD440 Unit 7: Intervention Selection Paper
- HD440 Unit 8: Resource and Partner Plan
- HD440 Unit 9: Program Plan Draft
- HD440 Unit 10: Planning Document
- HD420 Unit 3: Behavior Theory Application
HD440 Unit 3 questions, answered
How long should a community assessment summary be?
Length depends on your prompt, but summaries are meant to be read quickly, so three to five pages plus tables is typical. Density matters more than length: each section should deliver a finding a planner could act on. Put detailed tables in an appendix and keep the body to what the figures mean.
Should the summary include community input as well as data?
If you have it, yes. Survey results, focus group findings or the priorities listed in a hospital's needs assessment show what residents are concerned about, which counts in later priority setting. Label such input clearly and keep it separate from indicators, so a reader can see where the two agree and where they diverge.
Why not just pick the worst indicator as the priority?
Because the worst indicator is not always the best target. A problem might be severe but small, or large but with no effective intervention available. The summary's job is to describe accurately; the choice comes later, against criteria such as size, seriousness and the availability of an intervention that works. Keeping those steps apart is part of what is graded.
Where can I find a free HD440 Unit 3 sample paper?
This page holds the complete Unit 3 summary, drawing a composite rural county as one picture for a planning group.
Why show where and when a problem concentrates?
Because a concentrated pattern lets a small county focus limited resources where most of the harm occurs, which shapes every later planning choice.