•  
  •  
 

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

family health history, genetic testing, preventing disease

College

Nursing

Abstract

Family health history (FHH) is a significant risk factor for many diseases and can help determine which patients need further genetic testing, lifestyle changes, and preventative screenings at earlier ages. Though recognized as an important step in controlling and preventing disease, FHH is often underutilized in health care settings. In a busy clinic setting, many clinicians may only have a couple minutes to discuss FHH with their patient, or may choose to forego it entirely. Apart from being time intensive and inaccurate, the FHH tools available are often seen as too complex. Additionally, a lack of uniformity in the collection, storage, and distribution of FHH further limits the usefulness of this potentially invaluable information. Dozens of questionnaires, surveys, and websites have been created to bridge the gap between the ideal and the practical, but a standard way of collecting FHH has yet to be found. Much of this could be due to the available tools not meeting the needs of primary care practitioners. The purpose of this project was to determine which characteristics are most necessary for a FHH tool for it to be useful in everyday practice.

Download

Included in

Nursing Commons

Share

COinS