Jarvis's Health Assessment ANZ, 4th Edition
The ideal student guide to assessing a person’s health
Jarvis’s Health Assessment provides the foundational knowledge and skills every nurse needs to assess people’s health.
Written by leading academics and clinicians, this text will help the learner seamlessly combine their knowledge of human anatomy and physiology with clinical assessment, communication and clinical reasoning skills. Its logical structure covers key theories, frameworks, techniques, specific areas of human function and how to apply health assessment knowledge and skills in practice.
The fourth edition has been fully updated for Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and is relevant for each year of the undergraduate or pre-registration curriculum across multiple subjects. It is accompanied by a wealth of learning and teaching resources to help learners grasp both theoretical and practical concepts.
The ideal student guide to assessing a person’s health
Jarvis’s Health Assessment provides the foundational knowledge and skills every nurse needs to assess people’s health.
Written by leading academics and clinicians, this text will help the learner seamlessly combine their knowledge of human anatomy and physiology with clinical assessment, communication and clinical reasoning skills. Its logical structure covers key theories, frameworks, techniques, specific areas of human function and how to apply health assessment knowledge and skills in practice.
The fourth edition has been fully updated for Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and is relevant for each year of the undergraduate or pre-registration curriculum across multiple subjects. It is accompanied by a wealth of learning and teaching resources to help learners grasp both theoretical and practical concepts.
Key Features
- Ideal for pre-registration course students, beginning and experienced registered nurses and those undertaking advanced practice roles
- Clearly separates knowledge and skills for nurses at a beginning level and those who have clinical experience, making it easy for teachers and students to identify content relevant to their level of learning
- Includes case studies to illustrate the initial parts of the clinical reasoning process and documentation of health assessments
- Easy to navigate, with a clear structure and colour-coding
- Extensive use of illustrations to clarify important anatomical and physiological concepts
- Accompanying resources include videos showcasing physical examination skills, PowerPoints and summative MCQ test banks
- A focus on person-centred care, health education, inclusive practice and lifespan
Instructor resources on Evolve
- PowerPoints
- Image collection
- Test banks
Student and instructor resources on Evolve
- Skills videos
Author Information
| ISBN Number | 9780729544658 |
|---|---|
| Description Author List | By Helen Forbes, RN, BAppSc (Adv Nurs) (La Trobe University), MEdSt (Monash University), PhD (University of Sydney), Nurse Consultant (Education), Formerly Associate Professor and Associate Head of School (Teaching & Learning), School of Nursing & Midwifery, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Elizabeth Watt, RN, DipN (College of Nursing Australia), BAppSc (Adv Nurs) (Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences), MNS (La Trobe University), Cert Prom Cont, FACN, Nurse Consultant (Education), Senior Research Fellow, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Copyright Year | 2025 |
| Edition Number | 4 |
| Format | Book |
| Trim | 216w x 276h (8.50" x 10.875") |
| Imprint | Elsevier |
| Page Count | 0 |
| Publication Date | 3 Dec 2024 |
| Stock Status | IN STOCK |


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1 The context and frameworks of health assessment
Introduction
What is health assessment?
What is health?
What is nursing?
Quality and safety in health care
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Assessment approaches for different situations
Frameworks for assessment
2 Clinical decision making
Introduction
Critical thinking and clinical decision making
Clinical reasoning and documentation
Developing your clinical reasoning skills
3 Developmental tasks across the life span
Introduction
Infancy (birth to 1 year)
Early childhood—toddler (1 to 3 years)
Early childhood—preschooler (3 to 5 or 6 years)
Middle childhood—school-aged child (6 to 10 or 11 years)
Preadolescence (10 or 11 to 12 or 13 years)
Adolescence (12 or 13 to 19 years)
Early adulthood (20 to 40 years)
Middle adulthood (40 to 65 years)
Late adulthood (65_ years)
Cultural and social considerations
Developmental screening tools
4 Cultural safety
Introduction
Australia: colonisation and the current population context
Aotearoa New Zealand: colonization and the current population context
Culture, ethnicity, race, racism and health
Cultural safety
Cultural competence versus cultural safety
Communication
Cultural identity
Ideas about causes of illness and disease
Expression of illness
Australian nursing standards
Aotearoa New Zealand guidelines for cultural safety
Strategies for collaborative assessment
Conclusion: culturally safe nursing
5 Screening for family violence
Introduction
Types of violence
Drivers of family violence
Impact of family violence
Intersectionality
Cultural and social considerations
Documenting family violence
Subjective data
Objective data
6 Screening for substance misuse
Introduction
Tobacco use
Alcohol use
Drug misuse
Illicit drug use
Developmental considerations
Screening tools
Subjective data
Objective data
UNIT 2 Health assessment tools and techniques
7 Person-centred communication in health assessment
Introduction
The process of communication
Techniques of communication
Developmental considerations
Interviewing people with diverse needs
Cultural and social considerations
Overcoming communication barriers
8 The health history
Introduction
The health history—adults and adults aged 65 years or older
The health history—children
The health history—adolescents
9 Physical examination techniques
Introduction
Preventing healthcare-associated infections
Performing a physical examination
Techniques of a physical examination
Developmental considerations
10 General survey and vital signs
Introduction
Objective data—general survey
Objective data—vital signs
UNIT 3 Assessing mental health, neurological and sensory function
11 Mental health assessment
Introduction
Key concepts and terminology
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
12 Neurological assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
13 Pain assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Pain assessment tools
Objective data
Abnormal findings
14 Eye assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
15 Ear assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
UNIT 4 Assessing cardiovascular function
16 Peripheral vascular assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
17 Cardiac assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
UNIT 5 Assessing respiratory function
18 Upper airways assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings—advanced practice
19 Lower airways assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Further objective assessment for advanced practice
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
UNIT 6 Assessing musculoskeletal function
20 Musculoskeletal assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
UNIT 7 Assessing nutrition and metabolic function
21 Nutritional and metabolic assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
22 Skin, hair and nails assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
UNIT 8 Urinary and bowel function
23 Abdominal assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
24 Assessing urinary function
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
25 Assessing bowel function
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
UNIT 9 Assessing sexuality and reproductive function
26 Female sexual and reproductive assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional objective data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
27 Male sexual and reproductive assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
28 Breasts assessment
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
Advanced practice—additional data
Abnormal findings for advanced practice
29 Assessing pregnant women
Introduction
Structure and function
Developmental considerations
Cultural and social considerations
Subjective data
Objective data
Abnormal findings
UNIT 10 Using health assessment in clinical practice
30 Using health assessment to promote safe and quality nursing care
Introduction
Health assessment, clinical reasoning and patient safety
Complex case study—Recognising and responding to acute deterioration in physical health status





