Does it run in the family?
UNA HERRAMIENTA DEL HISTORIAL DE SALUD FAMILIAR DE GENETIC ALLIANCE
Learning about your family health history is a fast, cheap, and easy way to keep yourself healthy! It can help a healthcare provider make decisions about your care and will help you make healthy lifestyle choices to lower your disease risk.
Genetic Alliance and partners created the Does It Run In the Family tool to help people collect their family health history information and share it with relatives and healthcare providers. The goal of the booklets is for individuals, families, and communities to use their new knowledge about family health history to increase their communication about health and become healthier people.
In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did a survey of over 4,000 people. Ninety-seven percent (97%) thought that it is important to know your family health history. But only 30% had ever collected health information from their family members!
We understand that the same booklet will not be useful for every individual, family, and community. People want information that they can connect with. For this reason, the booklets have many parts that can be customized: personal stories about health, pictures of familiar faces, questions to ask relatives, disease information, local resources, quotes, and more.
You can order your customized books from a printer for the cost of printing and shipping or download them to your desktop for free. Then you can print them yourself or distribute them electronically, through email or by posting to your website.
These booklets are useful for any group of people that has something in common: a family name, geography, job, culture, race or ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or other health condition, or a shared interest.
For ways to incorporate the booklets into your ongoing programs or initiatives, check out WikiAdvocacy. There you can find projects for many different target audiences and types of organizations or systems (employee wellness programs, medical schools, hospitals and clinics, fitness centers, etc.), along with tips on customization and evaluation.
The tool should be customized with the help of family, friends, and community. Collect their stories, photos, and quotes to fill in the booklets. If you need technical help, please email info@geneticalliance.org or call 202-966-5557.
Download for free and customize your book.