Health assessments should always have been a regular part of most people’s lives, but if we’re honest, a lot of us must admit that we didnt take these too seriously. Since the COVID 19 pandemic came along and shook the world, many of us now have a renewed understanding and acceptance of the fact that regular checkups must be a part of our lives if we are to keep our bodies as healthy as possible. When you get a health assessment, you’re taking a preventative step to stop anything radical in terms of health issues before they take hold. You are essentially maintaining your health in the same way that you would maintain your home: checking for any damage that may have gone unnoticed and fixing existing damage before it becomes worse.
Why Are Health Assessments So Important
Think for a moment about all the things that go on inside the human body that we can’t see. Many conditions or diseases do not manifest external symptoms until the condition is already too far gone to be treated. There are some things that a GP might catch with his or her trained eyes, but only if you are in their office for them to see the issues. You may have COVID and be asymptomatic, you may have a tumor growing, or you may have an abscess that you cant feel. All of these conditions are very serious but can, in many cases, be treated if they are caught early enough. This is why health assessments are so important: they look for all the things that the naked eye cannot see and prevent them from getting worse.
If your family has a history of mental health or cardiovascular issues, diabetes, high BMI, and so on, visiting your doctor on a regular basis to be sure that these conditions are not developing unnoticed can save your life. No one can operate without the operation necessary to see which steps they must take next: medical professionals are the same.
Visits like this are particularly important for people who smoke cigarettes or who already have a condition that requires monitoring.
What Happens At A Health Assessment?
A general health assessment will usually begin with a survey. This usually covers things like your medical history and a full physical check-up, as well as you reporting any symptoms or concerns that you have to your doctor. All of this information will provide a great deal of insight into your current state for your doctor: this includes both physical and mental health. All of this is used to create a baseline and also to get you on familiar terms with your doctor. You should be able to trust your doctor and feel comfortable reporting information to them- no matter how intimate it is. You’ll need to fill the doctor in on your age, height, hygiene, physical activities that you undertake, alcohol intake or any addictions, sexual practices, mental health symptoms, anxiety level, and so on.
If you have any pre-existing conditions, there will be a survey and assessment particular to that condition as well. If you previously had COVID, you must report your current symptoms or lack thereof to your doctor.
Who Should Have A Health Assessment?
The short answer to this question is absolutely everybody. Every human being has a body, and every human being should look after. There are things that certain age groups or kinds of people should include in their health assessments, though, such as
- Children younger than three and children younger than five should get their vaccinations and receive regular checkups.
- Adolescents up to the age of 17 should be well informed about sex and sexually transmitted diseases in their checkups. They should also be well informed about sexual preference and gender identity and feel safe enough to discuss these.
- People aged 18 to 39 should have an annual checkup. Cholesterol, blood pressure, thyroid, liver function, STDs, and depression should be screened. Women in this age group should have a PAP smear and breast exam; men must have a testicular exam.
- People over the age of 65 must have an overall checkup, cancer screenings, and spatial orientation screening.
Different Kinds of Health Assessments
- A brief assessment is completed in 30 minutes or less.
- A standard assessment, completed in 45 minutes or less.
- A long assessment, conducted if there are complex health issues to address, is usually completed in an hour or less.
- A prolonged assessment is where a preventative healthcare plan must be devised and implemented. The duration will vary according to the issues present.
Wrap Up
Now that you have clarity on all the different kinds of health assessments and who needs them, you shouldn’t feel too overwhelmed going into one!
