Chapter : III

HEALTH ASSESSMENT
 HEALTH ASSESSMENT
Definition
According to Herpin,
"Nursing assessment is a continuous, systematic critical,, orderly analysing
and interpreting information about physical, psychological, social needs of a
person, the nature of self care deficient, other factors influencing condition
and care.
• Purpose of Health Assessment
- To identify the specific health deficit & guidance needed.
- To assume the probable effect of nursing intervention on these conditions
and the effectiveness of nursing efforts, while solving health problems.
• Methods of Data Collection The information can be collected by various
methods at home
: • Observation • Interviewing • Discussion
Methods of data collection
Observation:
The Community Health Nurse must be good observer, during home visit
Collection of information by observation gives realistic situation of
health practice
• Observation of home environment and living condition will
help to assess the general condition
• It is important to get acquainted with family/environment
along with patient Many things can be learnt by observation .
• Eg . in family how mother holds the infant, the feeding
techniques & how safe the environment is for child to prevent
from hazards & the cooking methods for food hygiene can only
be done by home visiting & observation..
Methods of Data collection
• . Interviewing
• "Interviewing is face-to-face conversation with a purple.'
It is a method of securing information such as fact,
opinion & personal history
• It helps individual to recognize & understanding their
own problem’s.
• Through this process an individual can mutually clarify
feelings, attitudes & meaningful information.
• The home is a suitable place for the community health
nursing to interview the client because client should feel
more comfortable & relaxed in her own environment.
Discussion
• The discussion stands for discussion held with in a
group.
• It means interchanging of ideas between people or
individual & nurse. It is planned & organized by the
nurse for achieving goals.
Components of health assessment
• There are two main components of health assessment.
• Taking History
• Taking history is essential to know about the faiths & fears of
patient, his attitude towards health to get the pre treatment
description & for the treatment itself. History taking is the
tool of collecting information about the person. His family ,
socioeconomic background & nutrition, previous diseases
accidents & present illness etc.
Physical Examination
• In physical examination
• Inspection
• Palpation
• Auscultation
• Percussion
• Observation of general appearances
Following points should be included in physical
examination for health assessment
• Measuring weight &height
• Taking temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure
&pulse oximetry.
• Ensuring Physical & mental development
• General figure, shape , color & look of individual.
 Thank
you,
Characteristics of a Healthy Person
General physical Examination
• Healthy Appearance, Appropriate weight. Height,
• Intelligent, Pleasing, Smiling face, friendly in nature, well
dressed & good Posture.
Mental status:
• Well oriented to person , place & time Maintain good eye
contact ,fully conscious good judgement capability.
Healhy person
Speech Clear &- appropriate, correct selection of words during
speech, command on sentence & wordings.
Head to toe examination Head & Neck Head symmetrically rounded with full
range of motion.
1. Hair : Clean, shining, oiled & combed without dandruff.
2.Scalp & skill : Smooth, firm, symmetrical with no inflammation, cysts,
tenderness.
3.Face : Shining, no abnormal marks or movements.
4.Neck : Symmetrical with smooth controlled movement, without
scar & lesion, trachea in middle, lymph nodes not palpable.
5.Eyes : Symmetrical & in alignment with top of ears, eye brows with
equal distribution, blinking, symmetrical & involuntary.
 6.Ears :
Normal in size & symmetrical without any lump,
discharge, deformity, hearing normal.
7. Nose : Same color as face, no discharge, nasal
septum midline symmetrical without deviation &
bleeding.
8 Mouth
Lips: Symmetrical, smooth, moist, no nodule or
lesion.
Buccal mucosa : Pink & moist without discoloration,
no ulcer.
Gums :Pink & moist without erthma.
Teeth: 28 to 32, shiny, white in good condition.
Taste: Successful identification of taste by tongue.
9.Chest Symmetrical & relaxed sternum & ribs without any
deformity.
10.Heart: Apical pulse 72-76/mt & regular.
11.Breast : Symmetrical, non tender, no lump or lesion.
12. Abdomen: Round, soft, symmetrical, bowel sounds audible &
normal.
13.Upper Extremities: Arms symmetrical, all types of motion
without any tension or bony deformities, muscle reflex normal.
14.Lower extremities: Legs symmetrical, no lesion or bony
deformities, without any rashes, lesion, oedema or inflammation,
with full range of motion.
 assessment

15.Sensation syste: Normal sensation

Places of Health Assessment:
• Health assessment can be done at the
• Individual home
• Health Centre and clinic
• Hospitals
Thank You,