Module 3 HA Comprehensive Health History 1
Module 3 HA Comprehensive Health History 1
Module 3 HA Comprehensive Health History 1
Module 3
2024
Module No. 3
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COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH HISTORY
Learning Objectives:
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The purpose of health history is to collect subjective data- what the patient says about himself or
herself. The history is combined with objective data from the physical examination and
laboratory studies to form the data base.
The health history provides a comprehensive portrait of the patient’s past and present health.
The components of a health history are as follows:
1. Biographic
2. Reason for seeking care (Chief complaint)
3. Presence health or history of present illness
4. Current medications
5. Family history
6. Review of systems
7. Functional assessment of activities of daily living (ADL’s)
The Health History- The Adult
1. Biographic Data
Name
Address and phone number
Age and birth date
Gender
Marital Status
Race, Ethnic Origin
Occupation (usual and present – an illness or disability may have prompted change
in occupation)
Language and communication needs (primary language and authorized
representative should be recorded; if the patient does not speak English or
Filipino/Tagalog, specify the language/dialect spoken (e.g. speak Iloko only, speaks
Korean only.
Source of History
1. Record who furnishes the information (e.g., the patient, relative, friend)
2. Judge how reliable the information seems and how willing he or she to
communicate.
3. Noted any special circumstances, such as the use of interpreter.
Examples:
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“Chest pain for 2 hours.”
“Earache and fussy all night.”
“Dizziness and ringing of the right ear.”
The chief complaint is not diagnostic statement. Avoid translating it into terms of
a medical diagnosis (e.g., “increasing shortness of breath for fours,” not
emphysema.”
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Prescribed medications may have adverse interactions with OTC’s and herbal
medications.
This also ensures evaluation of medications taken by the patient by the
physician- either to continue the medication unchanged, to continue but change
the dose, or to discontinue the medication.
6. Family history
Ask about the age and health or age and cause of death of blood related such as
parents, grandparents and siblings. These data may have genetic significance for
the patient.
Ask family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, blood
disorders, cancer, anemia, arthritis, allergies, obesity, alcoholism, mental illness,
seizure disorder, kidney disease and tuberculosis.
7. Review of System (ROS)
The order of the examination is from head to toe.
Remember, that the health history should be limited to patient statements or
subjective data-factors that the person says were not present.
GENERAL OVERALL HEALTH STATE
Skin
Any unusually frequent or severe headache, any head injury, dizziness, vertigo,
syncope.
Eyes
Difficulty with vision (decreased activity, blurring, blind spots), eye pain, diplopia (double
vision), redness or swelling, watering or discharge, glaucoma, cataracts, photophobia,
itching.
Health promotion: Wear glasses or contacts; last vision check or glaucoma test; and how
is he/she coping with loss of vision of any.
Ears
Earaches, infections, discharge and its characteristics, tinnitus (ringing of the ears) or
vertigo (sensation of the spinning of the room or self).
Health promotion: Hearing loss, hearing aid use, how loss affects daily life, any exposure
to environmental noise and methods of cleaning ears.
Nose and Sinuses
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Discharge and characteristics, any unusually frequent or severe colds, sinus pain, nasal
obstructions, nosebleeds, allergies, or hay fever, or change in the sense of smell.
Mouth and Throat
Mouth pain, frequent sore throat, bleeding gums, toothache, lesion in mouth and tongue,
dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), hoarseness or voice change, tonsillectomy, altered
taste.
Health promotion: pattern of daily dental care, use of prostheses (dentures, bridge) and
last dental check-up.
Neck
Pain, lump, nipple discharge, history of breast disease, any surgery on the breasts.
Health promotion: Performs breast self-examination, including its frequency and method
used, last mammogram.
Axila
Menstrual history (age at menarche, last menstrual period, cycle duration, any
amenorrhea, menorrhagia, premenstrual, pain or dysmenorrheal, intermenstrual
spotting).
Vaginal itching, discharge and its characteristics.
Age at menopause, menopausal signs and symptoms, postmenopausal bleeding.
Health promotion: Last gynecologic check-up and last Papanicolaou test.
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Musculoskeletal System
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Functional Assessment questions which should be included in the standard
health history are as follows:
1. Self-esteem, Self-concept
Educational attainment and trainings
Financial status (income)
Religious practices and perception of personal strengths (value belief system)
2. Activity/Exercise
Usual daily activities (ask: “Tell me how you spend a typical day?”)
Ability to perform ADL’s: independent or needs assistance with feeding, bathing,
hygiene, dressing, toileting, bed to chair, transfer, walking, standing, or climbing
stairs.
Any use of wheelchair, prostheses or mobility aids?
Leisure activities enjoyed
Exercise pattern (type, amount per day or week, method of monitoring the body’s
response to exercise).
3. Sleep and Rest
Sleep patterns
Daytime naps
Any sleep aids (sleeping pills, CPAP for sleep apnea/snoring)
4. Nutrition/Elimination
Diet recall (24-hour recall)
Eating habits and current appetite
Asks: “Who buys food and prepares food?”
“Are your finances adequate for food?”
“Who is present at mealtimes?”
5. Interpersonal Relationship/Resources
Social Roles: “How would you describe your role in the family?”
Support System: “To whom could you go for support with a problem at work, with
your health, or a personal problem?”
6. Spiritual Resources:
Faith: “Do you consider yourself to be a religious or spiritual person?”
Influence: “Do you consider yourself to be a religious or spiritual person?”
Community: “Are you part of any religious or spiritual community?”
Address: “Would you like me to address any religious or spiritual issues or concerns
with you?”
7. Coping and Stress Management
Methods tried to relieve stress, and if these have been helpful.
8. Personal Habits
Tobacco, Alcohol
Tobacco Use
“Do you smoke cigarettes?”
“At what age did you start?”
Alcohol
“Do you drink alcohol?”
“When was your last drink?”
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9. Environment/Hazards
Housing and neighborhood
Safety of area
Adequate ventilation and utilities
Access to transportation
Involvement in community services
10. Intimate Pattern: Violence
Begin with open-ended questions.
Ask: “How are things at home?”
“Do you feel safe?”
11. Occupational Health
Ask the patient to describe his or her job.
“Ever worked with any health hazard such as inhalants, chemicals?”
“Wear any protective equipment?”
12. Perception of Health
Ask: “How do you define health?”
“What are your concerns?”
“What are your health goals?”
DEVELOPMENTAL CARE
A. Additional Information for Health history for pediatric patients.
13. Reason for Seeking Care
Record the parent’s spontaneous statement. Reasons given by parents may be,
“time for the child’s check-up,” she needs the next vaccine/immunization.”
A parent may have a “hidden agenda” such as a mother bringing 4-year old child
to the clinic because the child “looked pale.” Further questioning revealed that the
motor had heard recently from a friend whose own 4-year old child had just been
diagnosed with leukemia.
14. Present Health or History of Present Illness
Include a statement about the usual health of the child and any common health
problems or major health problems.
Examples:
The child’s health status is generally good as stated by mother.
The child is in pain, as claimed by the mother.
The child had “one asthmatic attack” for the past 3 months.
Describe any presenting sign or symptom. Use the same format as for the adult.
Some additional considerations include:
Severity of Pain
“How do you know; the child is in pain?”
Effect of pain on usual behavior
“Refuses feeding.”
“Stops him/her from playing.”
“Refuses to go to school.”
“Stays in bed most of the time.”
Parent’s coping ability and reaction of other family member’s child’s symptoms
or illness.
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15. Past Health
Prenatal Status
How was this pregnancy speed?
Was it planned?
What was the mother’s health during pregnancy?
Where there any complications (e.g., bleeding, excessive nausea and
vomiting, unusual weight gain, high blood pressure, swelling of hands and
feet, infections- German measles/rubella, sexually transmitted infection)?
What diet and medications were prescribed and/or taken during
pregnancy?
Did the mother undergo any x-ray studies during pregnancy?
Labor and Delivery
Parity of the mother (e.g., Gravida, Para)
Duration of pregnancy (e.g., 9 months)
Place of delivery ( e,g., normal/vaginal delivery, cesarean section, vertex
( head is presenting part) and breech ( buttocks is presenting part)
Birth weight, birth length, head circumference, chest circumference,
APGAR score, onset of breathing, any cyanosis, need for resuscitation
and use of special equipment or procedure.
Postnatal Status
Any problems in the nursery?
Length of hospital stay
Neonatal jaundice (e.g., after 24 hours, first 24 hours of birth)
Whether the baby was discharged with the mother, needed stay longer in
the nursery.
Any feeding problems, “ blue-spells”, “colic diarrhea”
Patterns of crying and sleeping
Mother’s health postpartum
Mother’s reaction to the baby
Childhood illnesses
Age when any of the following illnesses was/were experiencing measles,
mumps, rubella, chickenpox, whooping cough, sore throat, ear infections.
Serious accidents or injuries
Age of occurrence
Extent of injury
How the child was treated
Complications of auto accidents, falls, head injuries, fractures, burns and
poisonings.
Serious or Chronic Illnesses
Age of onset
How the child was treated?
What are the complications?
Examples: meningitis, encephalitis, seizure disorder, asthma, pneumonia,
rheumatic fever, diabetes, kidney problems, tuberculosis, otitis media and
allergies.
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Operations or hospitalizations
Reason for care
Age of admission
Name of physician and hospital
Duration of stay
How the child reacted to hospitalization
Any complications
Immunizations
Age when administered
Date administered
Any reactions following immunizations
Allergies
Any foods, drugs, contact agents, environmental agents to which the child
is allergic, reaction to allergen.
Examples of allergens
Eggs, peanut butter, snack foods, shrimps
Aspirin, acetaminophen, penicillin
Dust, pollen, grass, molds, roaches, animal danders
Extremes of temperature (cold or warm weathers)
Medications
Any prescription and over-the-counter medications (or vitamins) the child
takes, including the dose, daily schedule, why the medication is given and
any problems.
DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY
Growth
Height and weight at birth and at 1, 2, 5 and 10 years.
Process of dentition
Milestones
Motor development (e.g., age when child first held head erect, rolled over,
sat up, walked alone, tied shoes, dressed without help)
Language (e.g. age when child first said “mama” and “dada”
Toilet training (e.g. age when the child achieved bowel bladder control)
Do the parents believe this development has been normal?
How does this child’s development compare with siblings and peers?
Current Development
Gross motor skills (rolls over, sits alone, walks alone, skips and climbs)
Fine motor skills (bring hands to mouth, pincer graps, blocks, feed self,
uses crayons to draw, uses scissors)
Language skills (first words with meaning, vocabulary, sentences
persistence of baby talk)
Personal-social skills (smiles, follows movement with eyes, turn head
towards sounds, recognizes own name)
Toilet-training (method used, age of bowel/bladder control parents’
attitude towards toilet-training terms used for toileting).
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Nutritional History
Breast feeding or bottle-feeding (for infants)
Frequency, amount, duration, supplements and method of weaning
Any problems with bottle-feeding (spitting up, colic and diarrhea)
Introduction of solid foods- what foods are given, child’s reaction to new
food.
For preschool, school-age children and adolescents
Appetite to eat
24-hour diet recall
Vitamins taken
How much junk food is eaten?
Foods likes and dislikes
Parent’s perception of child’s nutrition
Family History
As the adult, ask for family history of heart disease, high blood
pressure, diabetes, blood disorders, cancer, arthritis, allergies, obesity,
tuberculosis, mental illness, seizure disorder, kidney disease,
alcoholism, mental retardation, learning disabilities and birth defects.
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Use of medications, prescription, over-the-counter OTCs other drugs, alcohol,
tobacco and caffeine.
History of TB, hepatitis B, group B beta streptococcus, or human
immunodeficiency virus.
19. Woman’s Past Obstetric History
Problems of infertility, dates of previous pregnancies and deliveries infant,
weights; length of labor, types of deliveries, multiple abortions, maternal, fetal
and neonatal complications.
Woman’s perception of past pregnancy, labor and delivery for herself and
effect on her family.
20. Woman’s Present Obstetric History
Gravidity, Parity
Gravida (G) - woman who is or has been pregnant, regardless
pregnancy outcome.
Para (P) - refers to the past pregnancies that has reached viability.
Nulligravida- woman who is not now and never has been pregnant.
Primigravida- woman pregnant for the first time.
Nullipara- woman who has never completed a pregnancy to the period
of viability (capability of living, 24 weeks).
Primipara- woman who has completed one pregnancy to the period of
viability regardless of the number of infants delivered and regardless of
the infant being live or stillborn.
Multipara- woman who has completed two or more pregnancies to the
stage of viability.
Examples:
G1P0- a woman pregnant for the first time (primigravida).
G2P1- a woman who is pregnant for the second time and has delivered
one fetus carried to the period of viability.
Obstetrics history may be summarized by a series of 4 digits using
abbreviation TPAL or by a series of 6 digits using the abbreviation
GTPALM.
T- Term/full term deliveries; above 37 weeks completed or more.
P- Preterm deliveries; 20 to less than 37 weeks completed weeks.
Abortions; elective or spontaneous loss of pregnancy before the period
of viability (less than 20 weeks).
L- Living children a woman has delivered regardless of whether they
were live births or stillborn births.
M-Multiple gestation and births (not the number of neonates delivered).
Example: G5, P5-0-0-6-1
The woman has been pregnant 5 times, 5 has term deliveries, 0
preterm, 0-abortion, 6-living children and 1- multiple gestation/birth.
Date of last menstrual period (LMP)
First day of last menstrual period
Estimated date of birth- expected date of confinement/delivery
Nagele’s Rule: Expected date of delivery
1. Subtract 3 months
2. Add 7 days to the first day of LMP
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3. Add 1 year
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