Health Risk Assessment Tools in Our Free Essay Example

Health Risk Assessment (HRA) tools are systematic evaluation elements that are used to determine the health risk factors of an individual as well as motivate them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. For instance, the CDC Prediabetes Screening Test that I have completed is a Health Risk Assessment tool that is designed to systematically assess a person's health condition concerning their blood sugar levels. Besides, this prediabetes test acts as a wake-up call that raises awareness to an individual on whether they are on the path to diabetes and if so, the test gives the reassurance that it is not too late to turn things around.

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More fundamentally, although an HRA tool does not give an assertion that you have a specific medical condition, it is said to offer a form of screening to the asymptomatic individuals. The CDC Prediabetes Screening Test, for instance, does not only point an individual's highest health risks but it also gives referrals to a physician to persons who have high-risk symptoms. Also, the fact that this HRA tool provides a score with a range that mirrors an individual's risks of suffering from certain conditions such as prediabetes is evidence that the tool serves a clinician's discretion as to whether to perform a consequent blood glucose test. Take for instance, if this kind of test is positive, the HRA test means that one should refer to a physician for further medical attention. In the same vein, this particular HRA tool gives suggestions and advice on what a person can do to lower their risk age. For example suggestions such as observing a healthy weight, regular body exercise, avoiding tobacco and reducing the amount of alcohol intake are provided to lower one's risks of the common death causes.

The Importance of HRA tools in Primary Care

Being the first level of medical care, primary health care refers to the care that patients receive for preventive medical procedures or even for minor injuries and illnesses. In this regard, HRA tools are considered overly beneficial especially in primary care for the following reasons.

Predict and Prevent Diseases

Health Risk Assessment tools primarily examine an individual's lifestyle habits as well as their health history to determine how healthy a person and also determine whether the person is at risk for certain chronic illnesses. Therefore, in primary health care, the medical practitioner assesses the patient's health, their readiness to change and also points out target programs where they are most likely to be effective.

Helps Address the Unique Needs

When used in primary health care, HRA tools provide personalized reports that highlight the patient's areas of improvement. This, in essence, helps the primary health practitioner to treat and offer advice on the patient's unique needs.

HRA Tools Help Inspire Change

This is considered crucial in primary health care since after collecting lifestyle information from an individual, HRA tools provide individualized feedback with regard to the person's risk factors and eventually links the person with an intervention that inspires change in one's lifestyle to promote their health and reduce the risks.

Get Better Data in Less Time

In primary health care, the use of Health Risk Assessment tools enables the provider to get information such as the patient's demographic characteristics, personal or family medical history, lifestyle, physiological data such as blood pressure, weight, BMI and also the patient's willingness to change behaviour and improve on their health, in just a short period of time.