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How to Collect and Record Your Family Health HistoryDownload our Family Health History Toolkit (PDF File) or call 1-888-881-8852 for a paper copy Where do I start?The thought of taking your family history may seem overwhelming. There are many tools, discussed below, available to help. Start with talking to your parents and grandparents, if possible. Older relatives are often a great source of information. Respect the feelings of relatives who may not feel comfortable sharing their medical information with you. The holiday season, traditionally beginning with Thanksgiving, is a great time to start gathering information. Vacations, other holidays and family reunions can also be opportune times to discuss these issues with family members that you may not see on a regular basis. As each generation ages, opportunities and information will be lost. If you are adopted, you may be able to learn some of your family history through the family that adopted you or from adoption agency records. Digging deeperFor the beginnings of a written family history, lists of family members and their birth dates may be found in baby books, wedding albums, or sometimes a family bible. It is helpful to collect medical records in order to confirm certain medical problems. Collecting documentation such as birth and death certificates can be done by contacting the County Clerk or Recorder of Deeds in the county where the event occurred. To obtain marriage and divorce records contact the Recorder of Deeds or Circuit Clerk respectively in the county of the event. Obtaining the most accurate information is very important in order to make your family health history work for you. Who and what?You can start with writing down your own health history – be sure to check with your parents for things you might not know or remember from childhood. Next, move on to your siblings and children, as well as your parents. Going back one generation at a time, gather information on aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins and grandparents. Ask questions about their ages, dates of birth and death, and causes of death. Note medical problems like cancer (including what type), diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Find out whether birth defects such as spina bifida or heart defects occurred alone, or were accompanied by other birth defects, learning problems, or mental retardation. Mental illness and alcoholism have a genetic component too, and are important to record. Include vision and hearing loss, especially those that occur at younger ages. Include the age, if possible, of each person when their medical condition began or was diagnosed. Family History ToolsRecording your informationOne way to record a family history is by drawing a family tree called a “pedigree”. This can be done by hand or by using various computer programs. There are many tools available to help you. The Surgeon General’s web site includes an online tool, My Family Health Portrait, which allows you to save information on multiple family members, as well as drawing a family tree. It is available as a web-based program, a download or in print, in English and in Spanish. The web-based tool can be completed on-line with data stored on the individual’s computer. A printable report includes table of family health history and drawing of family tree. A print version can be downloaded from the web site or mailed. The web site has family history resources and materials for the general public and health professionals.
Other Family History Tools
Last Updated: 09/27/2007 |
| This web site is supported by a grant from the Genetic Services Branch of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and by the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). Grant Number: 1 U22MC03962-01-00 |