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Vital Signs

Helping Hispanics Learn Their Family Health Histories: On the Computer. . .

Every nurse knows the importance of family histories in assessing a patient’s risk of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses that have a hereditary component. To encourage more Spanish-speaking Americans to become familiar with their family health histories, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD--himself a Hispanic American--has introduced a new, updated Spanish-language version of “My Family Health Portrait,” the computerized information-gathering tool designed to help families compile and track their health histories.

What’s “new and improved” about this updated version, which is available online at http://familyhistory.hhs.gov/spanish? First, it’s Web-based, enabling it to be operated on just about any computer with Internet access. (The previous version required downloading the software.) It also has several new features which (1) make it easier for users to customize their family health information, (2) provide more detailed information about health conditions and (3) gather more relevant details to assist health care professionals, such as a patient’s height, weight and body mass index (BMI).

. . .and In the Community

Putting family history tools on the Internet is one thing, but how can you make sure people are actually using them? And what about low-income and immigrant Hispanic families who don’t have access to a computer? To help extend the reach of the Surgeon General’s family history public health campaign directly into Spanish-speaking communities, the National Council of La Raza’s Institute for Hispanic Health (NCLR/IHH) has partnered with the National Human Genome Research Institute and the Office of Rare Diseases to develop its own family history outreach program, “Genetic Inheritance: Knowing Your Family Health History.”

This recently completed year-long pilot project utilized specially trained promotores de salud (lay health educators) and culturally/linguistically appropriate promotional materials to teach the importance of family history and genetics in community schools, churches and clinics. “Our research shows that Latinos are largely unaware of the relationship between genetics and health,” says NCLR/IHH director Liany Elba Arroyo. “A ‘word-of-mouth’ campaign [is] the most efficient and effective way of disseminating information about genetics to our communities.”