What is a Health Risk Assessment?

A Health Risk Assessment is an integral part of an employee wellness program. Once the decision has been made to establish an employee wellness program and a team has been put into place, they will need the data that can direct them as to what direction the employee wellness program should take. It is important to collect this data, because in order for the employee wellness program to be successful, it will need to be tailored to the needs of the participant. Failing to collect this type of data will mean that they will be fewer interested participants, and the program is much less likely to succeed.

A health risk assessment is done in a specific and controlled way. This information is usually gathered by using a questionnaire or other assessment tool. This type of tool has been put together in a way that it can identify specific health risks and come up with solutions to help an employee make healthier choices. It is then been shown that the overall health of the employee can be improved and even prevention from chronic and serious diseases be achieved.

There are different components that make up a Health Risk Assessment. Most Health Risk Assessments have 4 basic parts. They are designed to gather the needed information for an employee wellness program. These basic parts are-

1. A questionnaire about an individual's lifestyle, that is to be completed by the employee.


2. A computer program that is used to evaluate the data, after it is collected.


3. Individual reports that are kept confidential and given directly to the employee


4. A report that summarizes all of the data that has been collected from the data. There may also be an appendix that provides an overall assessment of the data as well.

The questionnaire that the employee completes during the health risk assessment will ask about specific issues that affect the employee's lifestyle. This can include but is not limited to questions about-

1. Diet and nutrition


2. Body stats(height and weight)


3. Rate of physical activity and exercise


4. Family health history


5. Stress perceptions on a personal level


6. Smoking and consumption of alcohol


7. Overall work satisfaction

The Health Risk Assessment should also be structured to determine the interest level of the participant. It should be noted that any way to determine employee interest is by giving out employee interest surveys. Many businesses are doing this to determine the level of possible employee participation, in the proposed wellness program.

Some companies are including in the Health Risk Assessment certain health screening. For example screenings such as cholesterol and blood pressure results can give a clearer picture of the employees overall health risk. It also allows for more precise data to be collected which allows the employee to make more informed choices when it comes to both lifestyle decisions and participation in the employee wellness program. However, it should be noted that a Health Risk Assessment can be done without gathering this type of health information.

After the questionnaire has been filled out the data is then entered into a program on the computer. This program will then produce an individualized report (that should be kept confidential) that will summarize the health risks of the employee and give information on how to reduce any existing risk factors.

The next piece of information in the process of doing a Health Risk Assessment is the group report. This report should give any information about possible major risk factors. In addition, it should add any recommendations that can reduce the risk to both employees and the business, through using the employee wellness program. This information can be very beneficial, for helping to determine what direction the employee wellness program should take.