What is the goal of a health history during the assessment phase?

The goal of obtaining a health history during the assessment phase primarily focuses on collecting comprehensive information about the patient's family background, lifestyle choices, and medical history. This information is crucial as it provides insights into the patient's overall health status and helps identify risk factors that may affect their health.

Understanding family background is particularly important because genetic predispositions to certain health conditions can play a significant role in a person's health. Lifestyle choices, such as diet, exercise, smoking, and alcohol use, also significantly influence health outcomes.

Collecting this information sets the foundation for subsequent phases of care, including diagnosis and treatment planning, by giving healthcare providers the context needed to understand the patient better and to tailor interventions that meet their unique needs.