Document Information
Health Risk Appraisals and Medicare
This report evaluates the potential effectiveness of Health Risk Appraisals (HRA) and programs using HRAs as a health promotion tool, and provides evidence-based recommendations regarding the use of HRAs in health promotion programs for older adults. Health risk appraisals are a systematic approach to collecting information from individuals that identifies risk factors, provides individualized feedback, and links the person with at least one intervention to promote health, sustain function, and/or prevent disease. The key findings from this report are that effective HRA programs have demonstrated beneficial effects on behavior (particularly exercise), physiological variables (particularly diastolic blood pressure and weight), and general health status. Interventions that combine HRA feedback with the provision of health promotion programs are the interventions most likely to show beneficial effects. HRA questionnaires must be coupled with follow-up interventions (e.g., information, support and referrals) to be effective. The HRA questionnaire alone or with one-time feedback in not an effective health promotion strategy. The report recommends a Medicare demonstration be conducted to test the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of administering the HRA questionnaire with tailored feedback and regular follow-up in improving or maintaining senior health.
Reprinted with permission from Office of Research, Development, and Information Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Free, downloadable PDF file(s) are available below.
RAND makes an electronic version of this document available for free as a public service.
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7.0 or higher for the best experience.
Originally published in: Evidence Report and Evidence-Based Recommendations: Health Risk Appraisals and Medicare.
This product is part of the RAND Corporation reprint series. RAND reprints present previously published journal articles, book chapters, and reports with the permission of the publisher. RAND reprints have been formally reviewed in accordance with the publisher's editorial policy, and are compliant with RAND's rigorous quality assurance standards for quality and objectivity.
Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.
* RAND research is conducted across divisions, centers, and projects; these organizational components are represented in the "Related RAND Divisions" section above.
Top
RAND® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 1994-2008 RAND Corporation. 