Define health assessment

Health assessment is a systematic, deliberative and interactive process by which nurses use critical
thinking to collect, validate, analyze and synthesize the collected information in order to make
judgement about the health status and life processes of individuals, families and communities.

Purpose of Assessment
The purpose of assessment is to collect data pertinent to
the patient’s health status, to identify deviations from
normal, to discover the patient’s strengths and coping
resources, to pinpoint actual problems, and to spot factors
that place the patient at risk for health problems.

STEPS OF HEALTH ASSESSMENT

The assessment phase of the nursing process has four major
steps:
1. Collection of subjective data

2. Collection of objective data

3. Validation of data

4. Documentation of data