United States Census Bureau: Population And Migration

The advantages of the use of secondary data in needs assessment, design and implementation of intervention measures, and policy changes are numerous. Secondary data are less expensive, this implies that time, money and other resources are saved (Healey & Zimmerman, 2010). My focus for this discussion is Case Study 2, which addressed the health needs assessment of the Waupaca County. Waupaca County, Wisconsin is a rural community of over 50,000 residents (Gilmore, 2012). Given that, it is a popular tourist location, and the survey given had a clause of “do not complete if you are not a city resident”, there exists a chance that all data obtained by primary sources might not be without errors, as tourists might erroneously fill out the survey. Consequently, the secondary method I will apply to collection of data is the use of the American Fact Finder from the United States Census Bureau (n.d.).

In the 1930 census, the United States Government distinguished the differences in whiteness by asking participants to write down

2 data sources: Censuses, surveys (population, demographic information, occupational distributions)&Tax records (production information, shipping information, exports and imports, wealth).

Immigration has always been a big part of U.S history. It has shown us many different ways of life and earned us the nickname “the melting pot.” There has been many things that affect immigration like the push and pull factors and also the policies placed on immigrants over time. Here I am going to talk about some of those things.

Every ten years the U.S. government issues the decennial census which collects data about the actual count of people residing in the United States. The census contains questions pertaining to race and ethnicity, and these items are collected using self-identification surveys. The ethnic and racial categories available on the census are defined by The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). When self-identifying on the census, respondents must choose the ethnic background and race(s) that most closely resemble their own.

These early forms of the census, that did not take into account diverse populations, are a large part of the information that we have from that time.

The standard requires that a minimum of five categories be listed on the census. These categories were derived from questions asked on national surveys in the United States and are based on the self-identification of those respondents. The racial categories are based on self-identification solely and in no shape or form taking into consideration the respondents’ biological background.

The Census Act was first passed in March 1, 1790. This act made it so that a census would occur. A census is an event where authorities of an area count the population of the area they have authority over. The first census was done by the marshals in an area, they were allowed to appoint assistants to help them. When the census was taken, the largest city was Philadelphia, with a population of 42,000 people. Second largest was New York City, followed by Boston.

Immigration is central to the growth and identity of the Hispanic population. Immigration to the United States is about several expectations: the search for a better life, better safety, work, and education, for the immigrants themselves and for their children and their children’s children. The majority of Hispanics in the United States are native born. Of the 55 million people in 2014 who identified themselves as of Hispanic or Latino origin, 35 percent were immigrants.

According to the December 2012 United States Census Bureau Population Projection, the nation will continue its trend of consistent diversification. By 2024, the non-Hispanic white population will show a decrease in numbers. Minorities including Hispanics, African Americans and Asians will double, and other groups will increase by at least half. Eventually, non-Hispanic whites will not be seen as a majority, but as an equally represented group among its ethnic counterparts (U.S. Bureau, 2014). This projection can not be transposed to the country’s nursing population. Non-Hispanic white nurses often vastly outnumber other groups (Bessent, 2009, p6). The nursing workforce needs to actively and continually diversify its professionals to provide competent care for the nation’s ever-changing population.

The U.S. Constitution empowers the Congress to carry out the census as directed in Article I, Section 2 of the constitution. The plan was to count every person living in the newly created United States of America, and to use that count to determine representation in the Congress. They accomplished that goal in 1790 and our country has every 10 years since then. Eventually on July 1, 1903 The United States Census Bureau was founded to count every resident in the United States.

Although immigration helps a country develop through diversity, it can also be a problem because its increasing rate can overwhelm a country’s social and economic resources. Therefore, we must enforce immigration laws to slow down the immigration rate.

Throughout history the use of the census has proved to be politically important, from the days of ancient Rome to the modern day USA in order to count the number of people that are living within a given territory. The goal is to count every single individual once regardless of social status, race, ethnicity, or legal status. Although counting individuals sounds like an easy task, the US census is a burdensome task in which the government tries to account for 300 million residents at an estimated operation budget of 14 billion dollars (Singer, "Census 2010 Can Count on Controversy"). The census is a politically contentious operation because it demands an accurate count of the United States population regardless of many key factors that others find controversial like legal status. Many opponents of counting illegal immigrants in the census view that counting illegal immigrants gives unfair advantages to some states over other in political representation and thus controversy arises. The House of Representatives and the Electoral College both rely on the accurate exercise of the census since they are numbered by the population in their state. Over counting and undercounting are also contentious issues that arise because both of these defects in the census favor a political party over the other. The issue arises on how to responsibly count every group of people that are usually excluded due to factors like poverty or legal status. The US census serves a

A census is an official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals. The census is taken every couple years in order to get specific details about our population. It helps to take into account the amount of people a certain town, city, or state may have as well as their race, gender, and age percentage. The census is also used to calculate the amount of people who live below the poverty line, as well as the wealthy. The data collected by the census not only determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, but also is used to distribute billions in federal funds to local communities. These funds go towards schools, hospitals, public works projects, and other essentials needs that help Americans with everyday life. It is the most complete source of information about the population that we can gather.

U.S. Census Bureau data shows that the population of African American people in the United