Health Risk Appraisals instruments have provided the field of health promotion with an imaginative motivational and instructional tool to foster personal behavioral change. A HRA typically asked questions about smoking, blood pressure, exercise, medical history, diet and other life style variables. These risk indicators were then compared to epidemiological and mortality data to yield an estimate of an individual or group's risk for disease. They were widely regarded as the most promising new addition to the health promotion armamentarium. The National Health Information Clearinghouse divided them into the following three categories: Computer-Scored HRAs, which were mailed to a central computer facility for batch processing and were usually the more complex and detailed appraisals; Microcomputer-Based HRAs, which c;ould be processed by a microcomputer at home, in schools or at the worksite; and Self-Scored HRAs, which were usually brief, did not involve a computer, and were scored by the user.