NURS-FPX4040-Health Assessment and Communication

Introduction

    A healthcare assessment is a plan of care that promotes identification specific health needs of an individual and how such needs will be addressed by a skilled nursing facility or healthcare system. Healthcare assessment involves the evaluation of the health status of an individual by carrying out a physical examination upon taking their health history. The purpose of healthcare assessment is to detect illnesses in individuals who may feel or look unwell. Healthcare assessment is performed along the health continuum, and its approaches range from palliative care to prevention, to treatment about the health status of the patient on the health continuum (Wilson & Giddens, 2014). However, healthcare assessment is not treatment or treatment plan. Instead, it is a care plan preceded by the specialty such as nursing, medical or physical therapy. This paper seeks to explore a health assessment of an adult population in Volusia County in Florida by describing the key elements that make up a health assessment at the community, group, and individual levels.

Key elements that makeup community adult health assessment

   Community health assessment plays a central part in the health continuum by enabling practitioners, policymakers and nurse leaders to identify the population in greatest health care need and facilitate equitable distribution of healthcare resources used to promote health care. Healthcare assessment is a vital healthcare planning tool which is made up of various elements. These elements of community health assessment include community profile, community health status, characteristics of the population, local factors affecting the health of the population, measures of health and health inequalities (Monroe County, 2013).

Community profile describes the specific location and history of the community. Besides, the community profile explores the size of the community under assessment. Community health assessment describes the population characteristics which can be presented in the form of charts or tables. Population characteristics may include race and ethnicity as well as the economic status of a given community. Another component of community health assessment includes the health status of a community as compared to other communities.

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Elements of a group health assessment

Holding discussions regarding the health of a group, and amongst the group members can be very informative regarding developing a shared understanding of the specific areas the team should focus to make itself stronger and a healthier organization (Estes, 2014). The key elements of a group health assessment include: 

•   Vision/direction – the objective of the group, is trying to achieve good health and how to achieve it.
•     Role/ Purpose- The purpose and role of the group for existing.
•     Planning- The effectiveness of the team in making and planning activities.
•   Internal systems- involves the group’s internal processes and systems such as communication among the group members, managing finances, and mode of running meetings.
•     External profile: explains the effectiveness of the group’s profile such as how big the team is and what is known about the group.
•         Financial resources- Explains the financial stability of the organization and the effectiveness of the group in attracting financial support such as donors, sponsors, and grants.
•   Networks – Describes how the group is well connected (e.g., regular contact and partnerships) to other organizations which can help the group in its undertakings.
•     Confidence- explains the way in which the group rates its confidence in trying new things or tackling new issues.

Elements of an individual health assessment

Assessment of a patient’s present health status enables nurses to determine if their health presents potential health problem which needs to be addressed. The key elements make up a comprehensive healthcare assessment include the type of the evaluation, the purpose of the assessment, the person responsible, sources of information, and timeframe of the assessment (Rhoads, 2016). 

•     Present health status of the patient- present health assessment of the patient is carried out to ensure the accuracy of diagnosis.
•   Health history of the patient- Carried out to establish a timeline of course of illness and treatment response.
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