| Course | NSG 323 Community and Public Health Nursing |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Windshield survey |
| Length | About 1,160 words, 7 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | RN to BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 323 Unit 1
Windshield Survey of the Riverside North Neighborhood: Observations From a Weekday Morning and a Saturday Afternoon
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 323: Community and Public Health Nursing
Instructor Name
January 20, 2026
Windshield Survey of the Riverside North Neighborhood: Observations From a Weekday Morning and a Saturday Afternoon
Boundaries, Route, and Timing
Riverside North is a composite neighborhood of about 16 blocks in a midsize Midwestern city, bounded by the river to the south, a four-lane commercial avenue to the north, a rail line to the east, and a city park to the west. I observed it twice. On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, from 7:15 to 8:15 a.m., I drove every street in a grid pattern, stopping briefly at the corners of the commercial avenue and near the elementary school. On Saturday, January 17, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., I walked the same streets, entered two stores, and sat for 20 minutes in the park. The temperature was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday and 34 degrees on Saturday, which affected how many people were outside.
Throughout this report, statements marked as inferences are interpretations that the observations suggest but do not prove. Everything else is what I saw.
Housing and the Built Environment
Most housing is two-story wood-frame homes built close together, many divided into upper and lower units, judging by the two mailboxes and two doorbells at most front doors. On the four blocks nearest the rail line, I counted 11 houses with boarded windows and 3 empty lots with remnants of foundations. On the western blocks near the park, most houses had painted trim, cleared walks, and holiday decorations still up. Two newer three-story apartment buildings stand on the avenue, one with a banner advertising income-restricted units. Sidewalks exist on every street; on Tuesday morning about a third of them, mostly on the eastern blocks, had not been cleared of the weekend's snow.
Inference: the condition of housing differs sharply between the eastern and western halves of the neighborhood, which may reflect differences in ownership, income, or both. Uncleared walks on the eastern blocks could make walking difficult for older adults and people using wheelchairs.
Commerce and Food Access
The commercial avenue has two dollar stores, a pharmacy chain store, three fast-food restaurants, a pawnshop, two payday lenders within two blocks of each other, a laundromat, a tax preparation office, a small Mexican grocery, and a corner store with a sign advertising lottery and tobacco. I found no full-service supermarket within the boundaries. In the corner store, fresh produce consisted of bananas, onions, and a basket of limes; the rest of the store was packaged snacks, soda, beer, and household goods. The Mexican grocery had a produce section with about 25 kinds of fruits and vegetables, a meat counter, and dried beans and rice in large bags; signs were in Spanish and English. The nearest supermarket, by my map search, is 1.8 miles north, across the avenue.
Inference: residents without a car likely rely on the dollar stores, corner store, and Mexican grocery for food. Research has documented that neighborhoods with lower income and more residents of color tend to have fewer supermarkets and less access to healthy food (Larson et al., 2009), and this area's mix of stores is consistent with that pattern. The Mexican grocery appears to be a real asset for fresh food.
Transportation
Two bus routes run along the avenue, with shelters at three stops. At 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, I counted 14 people waiting at the shelter nearest the school, most in work uniforms from a hospital, a hotel, and a warehouse. According to the posted schedule, weekday buses come twice an hour and Saturday buses once an hour. Few driveways had more than one car; on the eastern blocks, many had none. I saw three people walking along the avenue with grocery bags on Saturday.
Inference: many working adults commute by bus to jobs outside the neighborhood, and hourly weekend service could make trips to the distant supermarket or to medical appointments on Saturdays slow.
Open Space and Recreation
The city park on the western edge has a playground, two basketball courts, a walking path, and a closed seasonal pool. On Saturday, eight children and four adults were at the playground, and six young men were playing basketball despite the cold. The walking path was partly cleared. The river edge to the south is fenced and not accessible from the neighborhood. The empty lots on the eastern blocks were not in use; one had a hand-painted sign reading "community garden coming soon" that appeared weathered.
Inference: the park is used and valued even in winter, but it is on the side of the neighborhood farthest from the eastern blocks, where the empty lots are.
Services and Institutions
Within the boundaries I observed an elementary school, two churches, one with a sign for a Wednesday food pantry, a storefront church with Spanish-language services, a public library branch open Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday, and a community center advertising English classes and a senior lunch program. I saw no medical clinic, dentist, or mental health office. The pharmacy on the avenue advertised flu shots and a walk-in clinic that, according to its posted hours, was closed on Sundays.
Inference: the churches, library, and community center appear to be the neighborhood's main gathering and support points, and they are the likely partners for any health program here.
People, Language, and Activity
On Tuesday morning, the people I saw were mostly adults walking to bus stops and parents walking young children to the school, many speaking Spanish. On Saturday, the laundromat was full, the Mexican grocery had a line at the register, and older adults were arriving at the storefront church. Signs on the avenue were in English and Spanish, and one flyer at the laundromat was in Vietnamese. I did not see visible homelessness, though I observed only in daylight.
Inference: the neighborhood appears to include a substantial Spanish-speaking population and at least some Vietnamese-speaking households, so health materials and outreach would likely need at least those two languages besides English. This inference should be checked against census data before planning.
Strengths, Concerns, and What to Verify
Observed strengths include an active park, a fresh-food grocery, bus service, churches and a community center already offering food and classes, and bilingual signage suggesting businesses that serve residents in their own languages. Concerns include the absence of a supermarket and a clinic, the housing decline on the eastern blocks, uncleared walks, payday lenders, and limited weekend bus service. These are the kinds of conditions, where people live, work, shop, and travel, that shape health upstream of any clinical encounter (Braveman & Gottlieb, 2014).
A windshield survey is a starting point, not an assessment in itself. Before drawing conclusions, I will check each inference against data: census figures for income, language, and vehicle access; the city's list of food retailers; bus ridership; and conversations with the community center director and a pastor. A community assessment combines observation with data and with residents' own views, and residents' priorities may differ from what an outsider notices from a car (Nies & McEwen, 2019).
References
Braveman, P., & Gottlieb, L. (2014). The social determinants of health: It's time to consider the causes of the causes. Public Health Reports, 129(Suppl. 2), 19-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549141291S206
Larson, N. I., Story, M. T., & Nelson, M. C. (2009). Neighborhood environments: Disparities in access to healthy foods in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(1), 74-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.09.025
Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2019). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (7th ed.). Elsevier.
The Herzing NSG 323 Unit 1 instructions
Unit 1 asks you to conduct a windshield survey of a neighborhood and report what you observed. Expect to define boundaries, describe your route and timing and record observations across categories such as housing, food, transportation, recreation, services and people. Many versions ask you to separate observation from inference and to identify strengths as well as concerns. Check whether your section requires two visits at different times; it often does, because a weekday morning and a weekend afternoon show different lives. Record counts and specifics rather than impressions. Note what you could not see and what needs verifying through data or conversation. Your own reactions can appear briefly, but keep them apart from the observations. Safety matters, so survey in daylight and with a partner if possible. Photographs should avoid identifiable people.
Inside the NSG 323 Unit 1 example
The survey opens with boundaries, route and the two visit times, so the reader knows what was covered. Each category section describes what was seen, with counts where possible, such as stores by type and people at bus stops. Housing is described by type and condition without labels like run-down. The food section lists every outlet on the main avenue. The people section notes who was out at each time and what they were doing. The final section sorts findings into strengths, concerns and questions to verify, which turns observation into a plan for the next unit. Inferences are marked as such, for example a closed storefront that might mean lost services. The survey avoids judging residents and focuses on conditions that affect health.
Where the points sit in the NSG 323 Unit 1 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a windshield survey usually covers the definition of the area, the systematic coverage of categories, the quality of observations, the separation of observation from inference, identification of strengths and concerns and writing. Observation quality draws the closest reading, since graders want specific, countable detail rather than impressions. Coverage points reward every category the prompt lists. Separation criteria look for inferences labeled as such. Strengths earn credit alongside concerns, since a deficit-only survey misses assets. Timing at two different points in the week is often scored within method. A list of questions to verify shows the survey is a first step. Respectful language about residents is expected throughout. Clear category headings help the reader. Nies and McEwen's text and Larson's review belong in the APA 7 list.
Common NSG 323 Unit 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Windshield surveys in Unit 1 often slip by recording impressions, such as the area looked unsafe, instead of what was seen. Another frequent problem is a single visit, which misses how the neighborhood changes across the week. Students often list only problems and forget assets such as churches or an active park. Inferences are mixed with observations. Categories are skipped, especially transportation and services. Counts are absent. The survey describes residents rather than conditions. Questions to verify are missing, so the survey leads nowhere. Photos of identifiable people raise privacy concerns. Finally, write as an observer, because graders reward a survey that another nurse could repeat and compare, and that depends on specific, neutral description of what was actually there.
Get a NSG 323 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 1 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 323 classroom, plus the neighborhood and route your survey covers. We write a custom example that keeps observation separate from inference and records assets alongside problems, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.
More NSG 323 papers and RN-to-BSN samples
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NSG 323 Unit 1 questions, answered
How do I keep observation separate from inference?
Write what a camera would have recorded, then write what you think it means in a separate sentence marked as your interpretation. Boarded windows on four of twelve storefronts is an observation; the neighborhood is in economic decline is an inference. Both belong in the survey, and confusing them is what makes these papers unreliable.
Does the timing of the survey matter?
A great deal. A neighborhood at ten on a weekday morning shows you who is not at work; the same streets at six on a Friday show something else entirely. Record when you went, and if you only went once, say what that timing would have missed rather than presenting a single pass as the whole picture.
Should I write about my own reaction?
Where it may have shaped what you noticed, yes. A surveyor unfamiliar with a neighborhood notices different things from somebody who grew up there, and both accounts are partial. Acknowledging your position is more honest than offering the survey as neutral observation, and it is also what the reflective element of these assignments is asking for.
Where can I find a free NSG 323 Unit 1 sample paper?
The full NSG 323 Unit 1 Riverside North survey is free on this page, every category observed on two visits with strengths, concerns and questions to verify. A survey for your own neighborhood can be written on request.
How do I keep observation separate from inference in a windshield survey?
Record what you saw and counted, such as three closed storefronts, and label any interpretation, such as possibly lost services, as an inference to check. This sample marks inferences and lists them as questions for the next unit.