Download HEALTH MATHS TASK IDEAS

ALLIED HEALTH
Ideas for Folio tasks
1. Nutrient Analysis of the diet of a group of people: Decimal, averages of Recommended Daily
Allowances. Food intake and percentage of calories that comes from fat in each person’s diet, etc.
2. Health and Nutrition: Fitness, Health and nutrition, Body fat assessment, skinfolds Girth circumference,
Waist to Hip ratio, risk of disease, BMI, caloric intake per pound of body weight. Calculate the calories you
burn daily exercising.
3. Muscle Strength and Endurance: Age percentiles, exercise angle measures. Measurement of agility,
balance, coordination, power, reaction time, speed).
4. Life Experiences Survey: correlations in social support and health, EKG; cyclical graph, interpreting
cholesterol levels, LDL to HDL ratios, cardiovascular health (triglycerides, blood glucose, blood pressure,
etc.).
5. Human Anatomy and Physiology: Recognize patterns in DNA strands and “complementary base strands”
to determine their meaning. Growth rate of a regenerating nerve fibre (3 to 4 millimetres per day).
6. Blood: red blood cell counts; microliters and cubic millimeters, different populations and age groups.
% of Blood Volume for a blood sample, Blood Pressure formula, measuring BP and graphical analysis.
7. Genetic factors: % of population and birth defects, diseases or linked to social, genetic, or environmental
circumstances.
8. Diseases of the Human Body: Diseases statistics, diagnosis.
9. Drug Dosage:A student strained her knee in a volleyball game, and her doctor has prescribed an antiinflammatory drug to reduce the swelling. She is to take two 220-milligram tablets every 8 hours for 10
days. Her kidneys filter 60% of this drug from her body every 8 hours. How much of the drug is in her
system after 24 hours?
10. Estimating body surface Area: In medicine, calculation of body surface area is sometimes very
important. For example, severe burns are usually described as covering a percentage of the body surface
area. Some chemotherapy drug dosages are based on body surface area. How might body surface area be
measured? What factors influence the accuracy of the estimates?
11. Coronary Care Nurse
 Taking observations e.g. Blood Pressure, heart rate, heart rhythm, respirations, chest status,
temperature etc.
 Recording and keeping track of the patient’s condition – “If they have an intravenous I will record
this”.
 Calculate dosages and fluids.

12. Blood Typing Unit—students first a statistical analysis of their own class’ results; they are then asked to
make predictions of the whole population based on class results; example—what percent of the population
would have O-Neg., etc.; this activity also uses number sense (fractions, decimals, %).
13. Reading Data in various forms (charts, tables, graphs, etc.); this is a concept covered often in PreAlgebra or Algebra I and then transferred as students are expected to interpret more complex data.
Combinations of medical terminology produce different meanings just like combinations of mathematical
terminology produce different meanings; example in medical terminology would be the meaning of
angiogram and a mathematical example would be right rectangular prism
PTO
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14. Mathematics for reading various medical reports, charts, and graphs (baby’s heart rate monitor during
labor; X-rays, MRI tests, etc.)
15. Calculating Intake and Output
In the pediatric population, generally we are concerned about the total intake the client receives per day.
Output is equally important. Therefore, all fluids are calculated for infants, small children, and others
whose fluid balance status is of concern. Nurses must perform dosage calculations when administering
medications and intravenous fluids.
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