Abstract
Inadequate knowledge of family health history (FHH) continues to be a major obstacle limiting its usefulness in public health and clinical practice; strategies to facilitate FHH dissemination are needed. Data (N = 1,334) were obtained through waiting-room surveys completed by a diverse sample of patients attending three community health centers. Perceptions about the importance of genetic information (β = 0.13, p < 0.001; β = 0.11, p < 0.001) and higher genetic self-efficacy (β = 0.14, p < 0.001; β = 0.23, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with higher levels of perceived familiarity with and importance of FHH, respectively. Furthermore, beliefs about genetic causation of illnesses (β = 0.12, p < 0.001) and a wider reach of health communication within one’s family (β = 0.15, p < 0.001) were associated with higher levels of perceived familiarity with one’s FHH. Participants in the oldest group (>50 years) reported higher familiarity than those in the youngest (18–25 years). Those with higher familiarity were significantly less likely to answer “don’t know” when reporting diabetes and heart disease diagnoses among immediate (OR = 0.35 and OR = 0.29, respectively) and extended (OR = 0.50 and OR = 0.46, respectively) family members. Having a wider health communication reach within a family may be beneficial in increasing familiarity with FHH; however, the reported levels of communication reach were limited among most participants. Women, older-generation family members, and those who believe in the importance of genetics in health or feel confident about using genetic information may be particularly important as targets of public health interventions to facilitate FHH dissemination within families.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashida S, Goodman M, Pandya C, Koehly LM, Lachance C, Stafford J, Kaphingst KA (2010a) Age differences in genetic knowledge, health literacy and causal beliefs for health conditions. Public Health Genom. doi:10.1159/000316234
Ashida S, Wilkinson AV, Koehly LM (2010b) Motivation for health screening: evaluation of social influence among Mexican-American adults. Am J Prev Med 38:396–402. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2009.12.028
Ashida S, Wilkinson AV, Koehly LM (2012) Social influence and motivation to change health behaviors among Mexican-origin adults: implications for diet and physical activity. Am J Health Promot 26(3):176–179. doi:10.4278/ajhp.100107-QUAN-2
Ayme S, Macquart-Moulin G, Julian-Reynier C, Chabal F, Giraud F (1993) Diffusion of information about genetic risk within families. Neuromuscul Disord 3:571–574
Baker LA, Silverstein M, Putney NM (2008) Grandparents raising grandchildren in the United States: changing family forms, stagnant social policies. J Soc Soc Policy 7:53–69
Baptiste-Roberts K, Gary TL, Beckles GL, Gregg EW, Owens M, Porterfield D et al (2007) Family history of diabetes, awareness of risk factors, and health behaviors among African Americans. Am J Public Health 97:907–912
Bates BR (2005) Care of the self and patient participation in genetic discourse: a Foucauldian reading of the Surgeon General’s “My Family Health Portrait” program. J Genet Couns 14:423–434
Bengtson VL (2001) Beyond the nuclear family: the increasing importance of multigenerational relationships in American society. J Marriage Fam 63:1–16
Berg AO, Balrd MA, Botkin JR, Driscoll DA, Fishman PA, Guarino PD et al (2009) National institutes of health state-of-the-science conference statement: family history and improving health. Ann Intern Med 151(12):872–877
Denayer L, De Boeck K, Evers-Kiebooms G, Van den Berghe H (1992) The transfer of information about genetic transmission to brothers and sisters of parents with a CF-child. Birth Defects Orig Artic Ser 28:149–158
Diefenbach MA, Leventhal EA (1996) The common-sense model of illness representation: theoretical and practical considerations. J Soc Distress Homel 5:11–38
Flossmann E, Rothwell PM (2005) Family history of stroke in patients with transient ischemic attack in relation to hypertension and other intermediate phenotypes. Stroke 36:830–835. doi:10.1161/01.STR.0000158920.67013.53
Ford ME, Hill DD, Blount A, Morrison J, Worsham M, Havstad SL et al (2002) Modifying a breast cancer risk factor survey for African American women. Oncol Nurs Forum 29:827–834. doi:10.1188/02.ONF.827-834
Foster C, Watson M, Moynihan C, Ardern-Jones A, Eeles R (2002) Genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer predisposition: cancer burden and responsibility. J Health Psychol 7:469–484
Giarrusso R, Stallings M, Bengtson VL (1995) The “intergenerational stake” hypothesis revisited: parent–child differences in perceptions of relationships 20 years later. In: Bengtson VL, Schaie KW, Burton LM (eds) Adult intergenerational relations: effects of social change. Springer, New York, pp 227–263
Goergen AF, Ashida S, de Heer H, Skapinsky K, Wilkinson AV, Koehly LM (2010) Filling in the blanks: investigating “don’t know” responses and discrepancies in the family health histories of adult children in the Risk Assessment for Mexican Americans (RAMA) study. Paper presented at the 4th National Conference on Genomics and Public Health, Bethesda, MD
Hughes C, Lynch H, Durham C, Snyder C, Lemon S, Narod S et al (1999) Communication of BRCAl/2 test results in hereditary breast cancer families. Cancer Res Ther Cont 8:51–59
Hughes C, Lerman C, Schwartz M, Peshkin BN, Wenzel L, Narod S et al (2002) All in the family: evaluation of the process and content of sisters’ communication about BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic test results. Am J Med Genet 107:143–150
Human Genetics Commission (2001) Public attitudes to human genetics information: people’s panel quantitative study conducted for the Human Genetics Commission, London. http://www.hgc.gov.uk/UploadDocs/DocPub/Document/morigeneticattitudes.pdf. Accessed 23 January 2012
Li R, Bensen JT, Hutchinson RG, Province MA, Hertz-Picciotto I, Sprafka JM et al (2000) Family risk score of coronary heart disease (CHD) as a predictor of CHD: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study and the NHLBI family heart study. Genet Epidemiol 18:236–250. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098
Lloyd-Jones DM, Nam BH, D’Agostino RB Sr, Levy D, Murabito JM, Wang TJ et al (2004) Parental cardiovascular disease as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in middle-aged adults: a prospective study of parents and offspring. JAMA 291:2204–2211. doi:10.1001/jama.291.18.2204291/18/2204
McBride CM, Alford SH, Reid RJ, Larson EB, Baxevanis AD, Brody LC (2009) Characteristics of users of online personalized genomic risk assessments: implications for physician–patient interactions. Genet Med 11:582–587
Meigs JB, Cupples LA, Wilson PW (2000) Parental transmission of type 2 diabetes: the Framingham Offspring Study. Diabetes 49:2201–2207
Murff HJ, Spigel DR, Sungal S (2004) Does this patient have a family history of cancer? An evidence-based analysis of the accuracy of family cancer history. JAMA 292:1480–1489
Myers RE, Ross E, Jepson C, Wolf T, Balshem A, Millner L et al (1994) Modeling adherence to colorectal cancer screening. Prev Med 23:142–151
O’Connor AM, Perrault DJ (1995) Importance of physician’s role highlighted in survey of women’s breast screening practices. Can J Public Health 86:42–45
Parrott R, Silk K, Krieger JR, Harris TB, Condit C (2004) Behavioral health outcomes associated with religious faith and media exposure about human genetics. Health Commun 16:29–45
Pharoah PD, Day NE, Duffy S, Easton DF, Ponder BA (1997) Family history and the risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Cancer 71:800–809. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(19970529)71:5<800::AID-IJC18>3.0.CO;2-B
Qureshi N, Wilson BJ, Santaguida P, Little J, Carroll J, Allanson J et al (2009) NIH state-of-the-science conference: family history and improving health. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment Number 186 (prepared by the McMaster University Evidence-based Practice Center, under contract no. 290-2007-10060-I). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD
Rich EC, Burke W, Heaton CJ, Haga S, Pinsky L, Short MP et al (2004) Reconsidering the family history in primary care. J Gen Intern Med 19:273–280
Scheuner MT, Wang SJ, Raffel LJ, Larabell SK, Rotter JI (1997) Family history: a comprehensive genetic risk assessment method for the chronic conditions of adulthood. Am J Med Genet 71:315–324
Tercyak KP, Hughes C, Main D, Snyder C, Lynch JF, Lynch HT et al (2001) Parental communication of BRCA1/2 genetic test results to children. Patient Educ Couns 42:213–224
Trotter TL, Martin HM (2007) Family history in pediatric primary care. Pediatrics 120:S60–S65. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-1010D
Valdez R, Yoon PW, Qureshi N, Green RF, Khoury MJ (2010) Family history in public health practice: a genomic tool for disease prevention and health promotion. Annu Rev Public Health 31:69–87. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.012809.103621
Ward R, Logan J, Spitze G (1992) The influence of parent and child needs on coresidence in middle and later life. J Marriage Fam 54:209–221
Yoon PW, Scheuner MT, Khoury MJ (2003) Research priorities for evaluating family history in the prevention of common chronic diseases. Am J Prev Med 24:128–135
Yoon PW, Scheuner MT, Gwinn M, Khoury MJ, Jorgensen C, Hariri S et al (2004) Awareness of family health history as a risk factor for disease—United States, 2004. MMWR 2004
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health. KAK and MSG were supported by funding from the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation. We thank the patients and staff at the community health centers for their participation in the study. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the US Government.
Financial disclosure
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ashida, S., Goodman, M.S., Stafford, J. et al. Perceived familiarity with and importance of family health history among a medically underserved population. J Community Genet 3, 285–295 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-012-0097-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-012-0097-x