A health history questionnaire for personal training, or any other use, will be set of questions that will help doctors, nurses, researchers and clinics and hospitals to understand the profile of the individual or population they are providing medical services to.
A questionnaire should make the process of collecting and analyze data easier, either to a simple academic research or to develop groundbreaking medical techniques and public policies. A doctor must know the details of the medical history of their patients to provide the best treatment possible.
Some patients, for example, can be allergic to a medication that is commonly used to treat a series of diseases. Such information is crucial for the treating doctor, which can be obtained straightforwardly in a routine health history questionnaire for personal training, for instance.
But what does a medical history questionnaire consist of? Read below some of the must have questions.
Demographic questions are very important to assess information that can be cross-checked against regionally or ethnically similar peers and subgroups. This can come in form of a “what is your age?”, “specify your ethnicity”, level of education, employment and marital statuses.
There will be family medical history questions as well. You should only include blood relatives, like your siblings, grandparents or parents in your own questionnaire to help assess what types of genetic diseases you could be carrying. If you happen to be adopted, then knowing such information may be harder or very unlikely in some cases. It can vary by jurisdiction, but most states and countries will allow a person over 18 years old to access their biological relatives’ medical history along with any living or dead relative through health and death certificates, which are publicly available.
Secondly, specific health history questions should be asked. For example, knowing that a patient has been in an emergency room, or if they have specific allergies, are vaccinated or have had bone fractures or sprains can be extremely helpful to a doctor. Indirect questions, such as “have you ever been denied medical insurance?” can raise questions regarding pre-existing conditions or disabilities that the patient wouldn’t inform otherwise. You should also inform your doctor about any medication or drugs that you are routinely taking, as this can sometimes trigger a negative reaction with a prescription treatment you doctor might make use of.
Once you fill out or update your form, remember to keep a copy of it somewhere, as you might have to use a health history questionnaire for personal training in the future, for example. Such information will be required by most personal trainers or for a gym membership, as its absence can raise liability risks and could damage your own health in some cases.
Knowing your own medical history will always be useful both towards assisting a medical investigation of a condition in its early stage and to encourage you to have a healthy lifestyle, especially if you know a pre-condition in your family and want to lower your risks.
