Assessment Tools And Diagnostic Tests In Children And Adults

 Assessment Tools And Diagnostic Tests In Children And Adults

 Diagnostic tests are the procedure used for collecting clinical information that is useful in clinical decision making (Kanchanaraksa & Hopkins, 2008). They are used to determine whether a disease is present or not when a subject shows symptoms or signs of illness. It is carried out after a positive screening test to develop a definitive diagnosis. Both reliability and validity are essential for measuring the performance of the test. Validity refers to whereby a test can distinguish between individuals who have a disease and those who do not have.

Moreover, the data measure effectively measures what it was intended to, for example, accuracy. Reliability, on the other hand, refers to whereby a test is repeated severally and provides similar results. Reliability depends on the variability in the method of measurement and manifestation of the basis of the test. And also the skill in which the measurement was made. An example of the reliability measure is the degree of repeated measurements, which is characterized as a standard deviation or variance.

Assessment tools are tools that have been adopted by health care to assess the clinical condition of a patient. Besides,ensuring the data is valid, cost containment, and patient safety and also providing a communicable and standardized evaluation of the patient’s actual problem (Ambrosi, Tameni & Palese, 2014). Reliability in the assessment tools refers to the ability to produce similar results when the tool is used by different individuals or at various intervals by the same individual. On the other hand, validity is achieved through evaluating the different features of the tool, for example, content, face, construct, and criterion-related validity. Criterion validity compares the tool with another one, known as a gold standard in a particular field. In the content validity, the expert analyzes whether the elements included representing the domain of the construct and is assured. Finally, face validity refers to the appearance of the tool and whether it assesses what it was meant to assess.

The sensitivity of a test refers to the number of given people with a disease and will test a positive result. It tells how a test is useful by showing the people with a disease while only analyzing the people with the disease (Kakobeng, 2006). However, the specificity of a test refers to the people without the disease and will test negative. Specificity refers to the proportion of people without the disease. The importance of a diagnostic test is to use the results for diagnosis. Therefore, it is essential to know when the test is positive, there is a probability to have a disease, and when the test is negative, the likelihood is that the person does not have a disease. Positive predictive values show the possibility of a patient having a disease once the results are known. Besides, negative predictive values refer to the proportion of people without the disease and will have a negative test result.

In developing countries, childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels. Obesity and overweight have both physical and psychological effects on children. The obese and overweight condition in children is more likely to carry on to adulthood. Besides, it may lead to the development of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular and diabetes disease at a tender age (Bhadoria et al., 2015). The obesity condition is not well understood and caused by multiple causes. Factors such as lifestyle preferences, environmental factors, and cultural environment play a vital role in the rising prevalence of obesity across the world. Generally, significant causes of obesity and overweight are a result of increased intake of fat and caloric. However, excessive consumption of sugar, for example, by soft drink, increased portion size, and reduced physical activity have contributed to obesity. Consequently, childhood obesity can affect children’s emotional, social well-being, physical health, and self-esteem. Besides, it also leads to a lower quality of life experienced by the child and poor performance. For example, the child in the case study learns from home, meaning the condition has denied her a chance to study in a school like the other children.

Parents and caregivers have a significant role in the development of their children’s health. However, through the use of different methods such as a survey to gather the information. It is substantial to encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about the health and weight of their children. Primary and secondary preventions are essential for preventing excessive pressure and manage excess weight. However, parents have a significant role to play to maximize the effectiveness of such approaches. It is crucial to encourage parents to role model healthy lifestyle habits to the children, create a supportive home environment to stage children’s healthy lifestyle, monitor and reinforce their children’s behavior.

Additionally, some parents do not perceive their children’s overweight condition as a concern. Therefore, it is essential to attempt to correct the parents’ biased perceptions on their children weight status by encouraging them to be more concerned about their children’s weight and motivate them to support their children’s healthy lifestyle behaviors (Tips for Parents–Ideas to Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight, 2018). The prevention inventions need affordable, accessible, and scalable to reach a broader target audience.