Health & Fitness Tools

Health Risk Assessment: Some General Information

3rd September, 2011 - Posted by health news - No Comments

One of the most widely used screening tools in the area of health promotion, a health risk assessment is quite often the first step in health promotion programs, which often are comprised of multiple components A health risk appraisal and a well-being assessment are two other ways to describe a health risk assessment. Basically, it’s a survey or questionnaire that provides individuals with an overall evaluation of different health risks and their quality of life.

Generally, a health risk assessment will have a risk score or calculation, an extensive health questionnaire which generates this score, and then a certain kind of feedback with a health advisor that is usually face-to-face or an automatic online report. Most of the information captured on a health risk assessment will relate to demographic characteristics like age and sex; personal and family medical history; physiological data like height, weight, blood pleasure, and cholesterol; lifestyle choices such as level of exercise, diet, and alcohol or tobacco consumption; and attitudes and willingness to change behavior as a means to improve personal health.

A health risk assessment will assess an individual’s overall health status, calculate the level of health risk for an individual, and provide feedback to individuals to motivate change in behavior and lifestyle in order to reduce those health risks and improve the quality of life. A health risk assessment is a great thing to do if you need to get an overall status of your health and better understand your particular risks and what you can do to improve your overall health.

After you complete your health risk assessment, you will then receive a report that will detail your health rating or score. It will usually be broken down into specific areas like fitness, stress, and nutrition. The report will also give you some recommendations specific to your life, your lifestyle, your family and personal medical history, and your health risks. This way, you will be told what changes you need to make in order to decrease your risks. For example, you will definitely want to quit drinking if you have a family history of alcoholism. If there is a history of obesity in your family, you may want to take action to make sure that you are maintaining a healthy diet and an appropriate level of exercise.

Sometimes health risks assessments can also be used to present data to organizations and employers often with cost projections as well as savings when it comes to potential absences, productivity, and healthcare needs. There are many different beneficial and informational usages of a health risk assessment in this way, and many people can be provided with helpful information because of this.

Overall, for individuals who would like to have an overall status of their current health and the changes they can make to increase their quality of life, a health risk assessment is a great idea. You need to get an hra today.