Willingness of Mexican-American Adults to Share Family Health History with Healthcare Providers

BackgroundCollecting family health history (FHH) information to share with healthcare providers is an important aspect of health-risk assessment.PurposeTo examine associations between the content of FHH-informed risk feedback and willingness to share the information with a healthcare provider.MethodsData were collected between June 2008 and July 2009 from 475 Mexican-origin adults residing in 161 households. Participants completed surveys 3 months after receiving FHH-informed risk feedback. Households were randomly assigned to feedback conditions in which household members received one or more of the following: an FHH pedigree, personalized risk assessments (PRAs), and tailored behavioral recommendations. Logistic regression models were fitted using generalized estimating equations, with exchangeable covariances, to account for the clustering of responses within and the random assignment of feedback condition to household. Analyses were completed in May 2010.ResultsParticipants who received personalized risk assessments were more willing to share their feedback with a provider than those who received a pedigree only (OR=2.25, p=0.02). The receipt of tailored behavioral recommendations did not significantly increase willingness to share feedback with a provider (OR=0.79, p=0.48).ConclusionsThe provision of PRAs in FHH assessments appears to motivate participants to consider sharing their FHH with a healthcare provider.