|  | Conditions Treatments | Medical Conditions

Define Health Assessment

Several different types of health assessments can be performed, depending on how large a sample of the population needs to be assessed.

  1. Personal Health

    • Personal health assessments generally are done by a registered dietitian or physician to find out details such as the tested person's chances of getting degenerative diseases, how healthy the person's lifestyle choices are, and/or if the person is getting enough nutrients in his or her diet. This assessment is done to get the "total picture" of the individual's overall health. When preparing an assessment, the assessor will usually ask for historical information (such as drug use, diet and economic status); he or she will obtain anthropometric data such as height and weight; a physical examination will be conducted to detect for health problems and vitamin and mineral deficiencies; and lab tests will be performed if necessary ("Understanding Nutrition: 9th Ed;" Whitney and Rolfes; 2002).

    Public Health

    • Public health assessments are reviews of materials in a certain area that could deleteriously impact the health of those exposed to them. These assessments establish information from research about what health effects could be found in those exposed, whether the threat of exposure is imminent and what can be done to stop or reduce the threat (http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/epitox/pha.shtm).

    National Nutrition Surveys

    • National nutrition surveys determine what kind of food and how much a population group eats by taking surveys of population samples. This helps physicians and dietitians complete health assessments by enabling them to compare an individual's assessment results with those of other individuals in the population at large ("Understanding Nutrition: 9th Ed;" Whitney and Rolfes; 2002).

    Anthropometric Data

    • Anthropometric data, mentioned in Section 2, are also entered into a database so that physicians and dietitians can have the national average and compare a patient's data to that average. This information helps them gauge how healthy the individual (or group of individuals they are serving) is compared to the rest of the population.

    Published Results

    • Refer to www.eatright.org to take an online health assessment or to find a registered dietitian who may complete one for you.

Medical Conditions - Related Articles