Description
Taking a family history is an important step in determining current and future health needs and education. There are many tools available to complete a comprehensive health history. The Surgeon General's Family Health History tool is part of the larger Family Health History Initiative that encourages people to talk about and write down health issues that seem to run in the family, bringing a larger focus on this important issue. This assignment allows the learner to use the tool and become familiar with this initiative.
Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:
- This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
- Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
- This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
- You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
- Use the Surgeon General's Family History Tool at (http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/portrait/index.html) to complete this assignment.
Directions:
Use the Surgeon General's Family History Tool (http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/portrait/index.html) to document your own family history.
Designate a proband for the pedigree with a disease or condition of interest.
Write a 750-1,000 word summary of your findings. Include the following information:
- Discussion of the heredity patterns discovered.
- Evaluate the risk of transmission to other/new family members.
- Propose the feasibility of using this tool in your own practice.
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running head: FAMILY HISTORY
Family History
Institutional Affiliation
Name
Date
FAMILY HISTORY
2
Family History
The importance of knowing one’s family history continues to receive significant attention
as predictor of health related risks faced. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008)
indicates that even though a person cannot change their genes, knowing the health challenges
that lie within the family tree can help one to mitigate the risks of developing health problems.
Since family members share the same genes and most likely are subject to the same lifestyles,
environment and habits, their health risks are highly correlated. Therefore one can be able to
recognize the key features and risks they share. Using the surgeon General's Family History Tool
I was able to undertake a review of my family tree and determine their health conditions and my
health risk.
Heredity Patterns Discovered
The review of my family tree revealed that none of my family members had heart
disease, diabetes, stroke or any of the three kinds of cancer namely, colon, breast and ovarian
cancer. However the major here...