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WGU C988 Task 2 Population Health Improvement Plan
Updated 2024/2025 with complete solution
Population Health Improvement Plan
Jackson County, Missouri
Shana F.
Task 2
, 2
A. Target Population
Demographic Profile: Jackson County, Missouri, is in the western portion of Missouri,
bordering the state of Kansas. Jackson County is a Metropolitan area that includes the cities of
Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, Independence, Belton, Independence, Grandview, Raymore, and
many other small cities; the county’s total population, according to the 2020 United States
Census, is around 717,000 (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). Jackson County covers about
605 miles and is listed as the 54th largest county in Missouri by total area (United States Census
Bureau, n.d.). The county is ranked in the lower middle range for health outcomes, 25%-50%,
within Missouri, so it is the state's least healthy county (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps,
2023). The population breakdown is 62 percent non-Hispanic white, 23 percent non-Hispanic
black, and 10 percent Hispanic, with 51 percent female and more than 60 percent aged between
18-64 (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2023).
Priority Population: Sexually active men and women ages 12-30 due to elevated risk of
sexually transmitted infections that have worsened throughout the years; 500 out of every
100,000 have been diagnosed with HIV, and about 900 out of every 100,000 have been
diagnosed with another sexually transmitted infection other than HIV (County Health Rankings
& Roadmaps, 2023).
Social Determinants of Health: In this population, the social determinants of health
include poverty, age (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2023), and lower-than-average life
expectancy due to violence, as Jackson County houses one of the top 10 most dangerous cities in
America (Bloom, 2022).
Barriers to accessing healthcare: Some barriers to healthcare are lack of health insurance,
unemployment, and lack of money for testing (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2023).