10 years later: assessing the impact of public health efforts on the collection of family health history.
In 2004, a nationwide survey found that the majority (96.3%) of Americans believed their family health history (FHx) was important for their own health; however, only a third (29.8%) of respondents had ever actively collected this information. Over the past decade, government agencies, advocacy groups, professional societies, and healthcare provider organizations have aimed to improve the collection rates and utilization of FHx. This study assesses the current attitudes, knowledge, and practices of Americans regarding their FHx and whether the interventions over the past 10 years have led to any FHx-related changes. We conducted a nationwide survey of 5,258 respondents using the same measures used in the 2004 survey. Overall, there was little change in Americans knowledge and use of FHx information. While there was a statistically significant increase in respondents who have actively collected their FHx (36.9%), respondents know roughly the same or less about his or her FHx today. Furthermore, only a small fraction (2.6%) had ever collected their FHx using a web-based FHx tool. Several factors were identified which influence whether an individual actively collects his or her FHx. New FHx tools and approaches may be necessary to promote clinically meaningful improvement in FHx collection among patients.
Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
Brandon M
BM
Welch
Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
Nathaniel
N
O'Connell
Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Joshua D
JD
Schiffman
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005192:Family Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011634:Public Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
clinical genetics; family health history; genetics; health information technology; type 2 diabetes