Health risk appraisal and the older adult.

Abstract

1. With escalating health care costs, a shifting focus on health promotion and illness prevention for older adults has produced programs that include education about healthy living and methods to change health behaviors specifically for older adult participants. 2. Using the HRA data, nurses can promote continuity of care as they communicate the results to other health care providers and develop multidisciplinary teams. 3. Older adults generally report their health as "good," despite chronic conditions or impairments; this disparity highlights older adults' use of coping mechanisms, thus adapting to problems by ignoring or denying them.