Abstract
Background and Aims: A comprehensive family health history still offers the best data for calculating risk of most complex diseases, but lack of informant accuracy hinders its use. Young adults transitioning from the parental home to more independent university life may be poor historians. The purpose of this study was to describe the quality of family health information acquired by young university students and to characterize the process by which they learn family health facts. Methods: Thematic content analysis was applied to interviews with undergraduate students enrolled in diverse classes across disciplines at a public US university. Results: Two processes, hanging around and trickling down, described the ways young adults learned family health information. The majority of respondents described both empowerment and a sense of vulnerability that resulted from having their family health information. Conclusions: Family health history provided by young adult students is characterized by inaccuracies related to lack of information and misunderstanding of information that is available. Young students are typically transitioning from the care of local primary care physicians into relationships with new healthcare providers, and are interested in family health history. Thus, this transition is an opportunity for nurses to construct an organized family health history with them.
Highlights
Prediction of disease risk is a major public health concern, and accessible tools for risk prediction are critical for population health
Family health history provided by young adult students is characterized by inaccuracies related to lack of information and misunderstanding of information that is available
family health history (FHH) information provided by young adult undergraduate students is characterized by inaccuracies related to inadequate information and lack of understanding of information that is available regardless of the model of information transmission involved
Summary
Prediction of disease risk is a major public health concern, and accessible tools for risk prediction are critical for population health. A comprehensive family health history still offers the best data for calculating risk of most complex diseases, but lack of informant accuracy hinders its use. Conclusions: Family health history provided by young adult students is characterized by inaccuracies related to lack of information and misunderstanding of information that is available. Young students are typically transitioning from the care of local primary care physicians into relationships with new healthcare providers, and are interested in family health history. This transition is an opportunity for nurses to construct an organized family health history with them. Transmission of family history creates a record of stories that demonstrate the significance of family members within the group Mothers have been shown to be strong family gatekeepers, determining care and feeding practices for children, and access to children by other family members, OPEN ACCESS
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