Understanding how your lifestyle and daily habits affect your health is important. Completing the Health Risk Assessment every year can help you recognize what you are doing well and identify areas for improvement. The Health Risk Assessment is a reliable and valid tool to assess fifteen major areas of health: Cardiovascular Risk, Physical Activity, Weight, Tobacco, Pain, Alcohol, Nutrition, Preventive Care, Safety, Stress, Life Outlook, Sleep, Productivity, Social Support, and Health Status.
Best Practices:
Since lifestyle choices add up over time, making healthy choices now can make a difference today and in the future. To get the most out of taking your Health Risk Assessment, take the time to review the results and see how you can use this effective tool to improve your total state of wellness.
- Look at your overall wellness score.
- Look at the Health & Wellness section. Read the green categories where you are "Doing Well". It is important to know what your strengths are when it comes to your health. You will want to continue those behaviors in order to keep your health going in the right direction.
- Read the yellow categories where you will want to use "Caution". This section lets you know the areas that you can be working on in order to make them strengths.
- Read the green categories where you will need to "Take Action". These are top priorities for improving your health. Other risks may also be listed with some ideas for improvement.
- Think about what medical follow-up or preventive exams you might need, and make an appointment with your health care provider.
- Consider setting a wellness goal.
- Ask yourself what is important to you for your health and well-being.
- Think about what actions would work for you that would improve things in that area.
- Determine what needs to happen for you to fit those actions into your life.
- Decide how you will know that you are making progress.
How We Can Help:
If you have questions about your Health Risk Assessment or your report, contact or call Health Plus at 615-343-8943.
Health Plus offers lifestyle coaching to Vanderbilt faculty and staff who are interested in losing weight, getting physically active, quitting smoking, or other wellness goals.
Keywords: Coronary Risk, Cancer Risk, Nutrition Status, Fitness Status, Stress and Emotional Health, Substance Use, Safety
