Definition - What does Health Risk Appraisal mean?
A health risk appraisal (HRA), within the context of occupational health and safety, is a screening tool to determine the health of an individual employee within a company. A health risk appraisal is mainly composed of a health questionnaire but may also include lab testing and medical evaluations. The purpose of a HRA is to assess overall health risks and life quality of individuals on a worksite.
SureHire explains Health Risk Appraisal
A health risk appraisal will incorporate three main elements in the assessment: a questionnaire, a risk score, and a feedback. A health risk appraisal will gather information based on demographic conditions (e.g. age, sex), lifestyle (e.g. exercise, alcohol/tobacco consumption, diet), personal medical history, and physiological data (e.g. weight, height, cholesterol level, blood pressure). This data is useful in heling to plan a company's workplace health promotion program. The lab testing may include tests such as glucose, cholesterol, nicotine, thyroid function, and prostate function among others. Medical evaluations at the very least would include biometric data such as pulse, blood pressure, height, weight, body mass index and may get as involved as a full physical by a physician.
A health risk appraisal should not be confused with a health risk assessment, which refers more specifically to the process of collecting the health risk data, and not the tool (the appraisal) itself.
