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Health Risk Assessment

Health Risk Assessment . Dr. James M. Eddy Professor and Chair Division of Health Education Texas A & M University. Health Risk Assessment. Health Risk Assessment is based on three steps: 1. Measurement of specific risk. 2. Estimation of risk based on actuarial techniques

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Health Risk Assessment

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  1. Health Risk Assessment Dr. James M. Eddy Professor and Chair Division of Health Education Texas A & M University

  2. Health Risk Assessment Health Risk Assessment is based on three steps: • 1. Measurement of specific risk. • 2. Estimation of risk based on actuarial techniques • 3. Feedback to participants

  3. Things Affecting Popularity • Medical profession increasing focus on prevention • Growing acceptance of computers • The interest of society in health promotion and wellness

  4. Factors to Consider • The expectations of the HRA… • Is it an ‘end’ or a ‘means’? • The intensity of the interaction with participant. • The relationship to a health promotion intervention, counseling or medical care.

  5. Why HRAs are Popular • HRAs are novel. • We are fond of numbers, averages, etc. • HRAs predict the future. • HRAs provide new knowledge.

  6. Useful Characteristics of HRAs / Potential Benefits • Personalize information • Encourage involvement of the participant • Structures an opportunity for discussion • Relatively inexpensive and easy to use • Systematic approach to health information and modified risk factors

  7. Useful Characteristics of HRAs / Potential Benefits (continued) • Provides group data which summarizes major health problems and risk factors • When integrated into a broader health promotion program, HRAs may increase motivation to change or maintain health behaviors

  8. Things that Limit Effectiveness • Complexity and quantitative emphasis • The inherent difficulty in understanding probabilistic concepts • Does not diagnose disease • Does not provide a complete medical history and is not a substitute for a medical exam • Does not assess social or environmental risk factors

  9. Things that Limit Effectiveness(continued) • The discomfort participants may experience in discussing some of the prognosis factors • The framework of ‘risk of dying’ may be less conducive to learning than a more positive one. Even the notions of adding years to life may evoke the threat of death.

  10. HRA is a Method and a Tool to... • Estimate a person’s risk of • getting a specific disease, both physical and mental; • dying from that disease; • dying within a defined period.

  11. Related Hypotheses • Given a particular disease with known incidence risks, a change in the prevalence of these risks in the population will result in a change in the incidence of the disease.

  12. Related Hypotheses • Giving people information about their own risk will lead to action to reduce the risk. • These actions will result in a change in the risk of the disease in the individual.

  13. General Ethical Guidelines For HRA Use • Health assessment program planning • Health assessment instrument selection • Health assessment participant orientation • Health assessment administration

  14. General Ethical Guidelines For HRA Use (continued) • Health assessment data security • Health assessment report interpretation • Health promotion resource accessibility (The Society For Prospective Medicine, Handbook of Health Assessment Tools)

  15. HRAs Should NOT Be Used… • as a scare tactic. • in lieu of a physical examination or other tests. • as an ‘end’ rather than a ‘means’.

  16. HRA Examples • Healthier People HRA • American Cancer Society Health Risk Assessments

  17. Closing Tips • Plan your event or program including the process • Be sure of the details • Select the appropriate instrument • Use qualified HRA administrators • Have resources available • Protect data

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