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HGT task 1 WGU Essay

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Community Health Nursing HAT1 Task 1
Western Governors University

Community Health Nursing HAT1 Task 1
History and Demographics of Bucks County Pennsylvania
Bucks County is located in southeastern Pennsylvania and is part of the Delaware Valley area. Bucks County is a suburb of the large city of Philadelphia. Bucks County was founded by William Penn in 1682 and was named after the British county of Buckinghamshire where Penn resided while in England. Bucks is one of the three original counties of Pennsylvania. Historically, Bucks County is known for being where General George Washington and his troops camped prior to crossing the Delaware River to take Trenton in 1776 during the Revolutionary War. Where they …show more content…

The average age of a Bucks County resident is 42 years old and males make up 46.9% of the population while females are 53.1% of the population. Population 65 years or older is 14.6%. Bucks County’s population continues to grow since the birth rate is greater than the rate of death. Birth rates for the county are 11.6 live births per 1000 and death rates are 8.3 for every 1000. Even though birth rates exceed death rates, abortion is prevalent within the community with 1,189 abortions performed in 2012 (Bucks County Health Profile, 2012). This is interesting due 66% of Bucks County population reporting to be Catholic which is notoriously anti-abortion (M. Gallagher, personal communication, August 24, 2013, 2013). As much as the catholic religion is against abortion, it is also against suicide. Suicide is an increasing issue in Bucks County with suicide being the second leading cause of death of residents aged 5-24 and the third leading cause of death for residents 25-44 years old(Bucks County Health Profile, 2012). Of those suicides almost half are by firearms. Drug abuse within the county is also increasing, specifically the use of heroin. The county is currently investigating why heroin use has increased. In 2009, Bucks had 136 drug related deaths or suicides. Heroin was responsible

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