Health Assessment and Data Types Quiz

Subjective Data

• Subjective data is what the client states or says, also known as symptoms
• It includes feelings, perceptions, and concerns

Objective Data

• Objective data is what the healthcare provider observes and measures, also known as signs
• It includes observable and measurable data obtained from observation

Health Assessment

• Health assessment has two parts:
  • Health history
  • Physical exam

Signs and Symptoms

• Sign: objective abnormality detectable during a physical exam or in lab reports
• Symptom: what the person feels or experiences

Characteristics of a Symptom

• Location
• Character or quality
• Quantity or severity
• Timing
• Setting
• Aggravating or relieving factors
• Associated factors
• Client's perception

Communication Process

• Sending:
  • Verbal communication: the words spoken, vocalizations and tone of voice
  • Non-verbal communication: expressions, eye contact, posture, and dress
• Receiving: the receiver interprets the message

Vital Signs

Respiratory Rate

• Neonate: 30-40 bpm
• 1 year: 20-40 bpm
• 2 years: 25-32 bpm
• 4 years: 23-30 bpm
• 8-10 years: 20-26 bpm
• 12-14 years: 18-22 bpm
• 16 years: 12-20 bpm
• Adult: 10-20 bpm

Weight

• Underweight: BMI less than 18.5
• Normal weight: BMI 18.5 to 24.9
• Overweight: BMI 25 to 29.9
• Obese: BMI 30 and over

Pain Assessment

Acute Pain

• Sudden pain
• Often localized
• Often diminishes
• Persistent

Chronic Pain

• Often greater than 3 months
• Pain originates from peripheral and central sensitization of pain pathways
• Tolerance exists while vital signs are not impacted

Sources of Pain

Noiceptive Pain

• Caused by tissue injury, inflammation often involved
• Described as aching or throbbing
  • Somatic: Superficial - from skin, deep - from joints, tendons, muscles, or bone
  • Visceral: direct injury or stretching of large interior organs, result of tumor, ischemia, or contraction

Neuropathic Pain

• Caused by lesion or disease, results from damage to nerve pathway
• Described as burning or shooting

Classification of Chronic Pain Triggers

• Noiceptive:
  • Postoperative pain
  • Arthritis
  • Back pain
  • Cutaneous
• Neuropathic:
  • Cancer-related
  • Diabetic neuropathy
  • Phantom limb

Respiratory System

Cough

• Orange phlegm: tuberculosis
• Green phlegm: bacterial infection
• Clear phlegm: viral infection (COVID, influenza)

Objective Data (Anterior and Posterior)

1. Inspection (Looking)

• Position of the client
• Look for symmetry
• Shape and configuration:
  • Barrel chest: bulging chest that resembles a barrel, may indicate an underlying condition
  • Pectus carinatum (pigeon chest): breastbone is pushed outward
  • Pectus excavatum (funnel chest): breastbone is sunken into the chest
  • Kyphosis (humpback): forward rounding of the back
  • Scoliosis: abnormal curvature of the spine

2. Palpation (Touching) Anterior and Posterior

• Tenderness and sensation
• Chest expansion
• Asymmetrical changes

3. Percussion (Tapping the Surface of the Body) Posterior Only

• Sounds:
  • Resonance: healthy lung tissue
  • Hyperresonance: emphysema (progressive chronic lung condition)
  • Dullness: pneumonia, tumor
  • Flat: bone

4. Auscultation (Hearing) Anterior and Posterior

• Breath sounds:
  • Bronchial breath sounds
  • Bronchovesicular breath sounds
  • Vesicular breath sounds
• Adventitious sounds:
  • Crackles: pneumonia, CHF, COPD
  • Wheeze: asthma
  • Pleural friction rub: pneumonia
  • Stridor: croup or obstruction

Thorax Variations in Children

• 32 weeks: surfactant is present (a substance that keeps the alveoli in the lungs open)
• Newborn: chest is generally round and assumes adult proportions by age 2
• Chest wall: thin, more yielding and prominent
• Respiratory system: does not function until birth (first breath)

Thorax Variations in Older Adults

• Barrel chest appearance
• Chest wall: may stiffen, and expansion is decreased
• Mucous membranes: become drier

Thorax Variations During Pregnancy

• Chest expansion: increases
• Lung length: decreases
• Deeper breathing
• Increased difficulty breathing: while lying on their back

Subjective Prompts for Children

• Low birth weight or assisted ventilation
• Coughing or possible aspiration
• Difficult feeding
• Apneic episodes
• Sibling crib death
• Recurrent spitting up, recurrent pneumonia

Subjective Prompts for the Elderly

• Exposure and frequency of respiratory infections
• Effects of weather and activity on respiratory status
• Difficulty swallowing
• Immobilization or marked sedentary habits
• Influenza and pneumonia vaccines

Heart & Neck Vessels

Layers of the Heart Wall

• Pericardium: outer layer of fibrous tissue
• Myocardium: middle layer of thick muscle
• Endocardium: inner layer of epithelial cells

Systolic and Diastolic

• Systolic: Heart contracts (pumps blood out)
• Diastolic: Heart relaxes (fills with blood)

Heart Sounds

• First heart sound: from mitral and tricuspid valve closure

Test your knowledge on health assessment methods, focusing on subjective and objective data. This quiz covers the characteristics of symptoms and signs, as well as the communication processes essential in healthcare. Perfect for nursing students and healthcare professionals.