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Li M, Kwok OM, Ma P, Tseng TS, Chen LS. Are College Students Interested in Family Health History Education? A Large Needs Assessment Survey Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:2596. [PMID: 36767961 PMCID: PMC9915439 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20032596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Family health history (FHH) is an essential foundation for personalized disease prevention. As the incidence of early-onset chronic diseases is increasing among college students, it is important to provide them with the education required to learn about their FHH. This study aimed to assess college students' interest in receiving FHH education, preferred topics, and desired learning methods. We invited college students to complete an online survey from a large research-intensive university. A total of 2276 college students completed the survey. Nearly half of the participants self-identified as non-Hispanic white (45.5%). Slightly more than half of the sample (53.9%) were not interested in receiving FHH education mainly due to low prioritization. Among those who expressed interest in obtaining FHH education, the three most desired learning topics were the ability to interpret FHH information (76.1%), the application of FHH in disease prevention (72.0%), and FHH information collection strategies (63.6%). Computer-based learning (51.1%) was the most preferred educational method. Moreover, females, older individuals, those who have FHH in first-degree relatives, and participants who were members of racial and ethnic groups showed greater interests in receiving FHH education (ps < 0.05). Strategies to promote college students' awareness, collection, and use of FHH are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Li
- Department of Health Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD 21252, USA
| | - Oi-Man Kwok
- Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Ping Ma
- Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Tung-Sung Tseng
- Behavioral and Community Health Sciences Program, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Lei-Shih Chen
- Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
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Factors Influencing Family Health History Collection among Young Adults: A Structural Equation Modeling. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13040612. [PMID: 35456417 PMCID: PMC9027539 DOI: 10.3390/genes13040612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Family health history (FHH) can serve as an entry point for preventive medicine by providing risk estimations for many common health conditions. College is a critical time for young adults to begin to understand the value of FHH collection, and to establish healthy behaviors to prevent FHH-related diseases. This study seeks to develop an integrated theoretical framework to examine FHH collection behavior and associated factors among college students. A sample of 2670 college students with an average age of 21.1 years completed a web-based survey. Less than half (49.8%) reported actively seeking FHH information from their family members. Respondents’ knowledge about FHH were generally low. Structural equation modeling findings suggested an adequate model fit between our survey data and the proposed integrated theoretical framework. Respondents who were members of racial/ethnic minority groups exhibited higher levels of anxiety and intention to obtain FHH information but had lower confidence in their ability to gather FHH information than non-Hispanic White respondents. Therefore, educational programs designed to enhance the level of young adults’ FHH knowledge, efficacy, and behavior in FHH collection, and change subjective norms are critically needed in the future, especially for these who are members of racial/ethnic minority groups.
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Madhavan S, Bullis E, Myers R, Zhou CJ, Cai EM, Sharma A, Bhatia S, Orlando LA, Haga SB. Awareness of family health history in a predominantly young adult population. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0224283. [PMID: 31652289 PMCID: PMC6814221 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Family health history (FHH) is a key predictor of health risk and is universally important in preventive care. However, patients may not be aware of the importance of FHH, and thus, may fail to accurately or completely share FHH with health providers, thereby limiting its utility. In this study, we conducted an online survey of 294 young adults and employees based at a US university setting regarding their knowledge, sharing behaviors, and perceived importance of FHH, and use of electronic clinical tools to document and update FHH. We also evaluated two educational interventions (written and video) to promote knowledge about FHH and its importance to health. We found that 93% of respondents were highly aware of their FHH, though only 39% reported collecting it and 4% using an online FHH tool. Seventy-three percent of respondents, particularly women, had shared FHH with their doctor when prompted, and fewer had shared it with family members. Participants in the video group were significantly more likely to understand the benefits of FHH than those in the written group (p = 0.02). In summary, educational resources, either video or written, will be helpful to promote FHH collection, sharing, and use of online FHH tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarina Madhavan
- Duke University, Trinity Arts and Sciences, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Emily Bullis
- Duke University, Initiative for Society and Society, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Rachel Myers
- Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Chris J. Zhou
- Duke University, Pratt School of Engineering, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Elise M. Cai
- Duke University, Trinity Arts and Sciences, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Anu Sharma
- Duke University, Trinity Arts and Sciences, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Shreya Bhatia
- Duke University, Trinity Arts and Sciences, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Lori A. Orlando
- Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Susanne B. Haga
- Duke University, Trinity Arts and Sciences, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Allen C, Escoffery C, Haardörfer R, McBride C. Factors Influencing Not Perceiving Family Health History Assessments as Important: Opportunities to Improve Dissemination of Evidence-Based Population Screening for Cancer. Public Health Genomics 2019; 21:144-153. [DOI: 10.1159/000499125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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