Advances stemming from the Human Genome Project have prompted concerns about the general public's readiness to utilize this information to make informed health decisions. As a strategy to increase genetic literacy among the general public, tools are now available to enable individuals to record their family health history. However, little is known about whether the public is able to access the tools, understand how to use them, and apply the information by taking health protective actions, which can compromise the potential effectiveness of the tools. Minority populations, in particular, may face distinctive barriers in the effective use of such tools due to lack of access to culturally and linguistically appropriate health information. As such, the overarching goal of the proposed study is to understand how African American and Latino populations respond to family history tools and to identify strategies to make these tools more appropriate and accessible to these groups. The objectives of this study are threefold. First, the study will assess understanding and beliefs about the role of family history for health among target populations through 4 focus groups. Awareness of public campaigns promoting family history awareness and communication channels used for obtaining health information will also be identified. Second, the study will examine existing family history tools for readability, plain language, and cultural and linguistic appropriateness for African Americans and Latinos. Readability and plain language will be assessed using well-established techniques. Cultural and linguistic appropriateness will be examined by conducting an additional 4 focus groups in the community. Third, this study will conduct user testing of existing print and computer-based tools for collecting family history information by interviewing a total of 20 African American and Latino community members. To accomplish these objectives, study team members will initiate partnerships and collaborate with community organizations to conduct the proposed study. Study findings will provide a greater understanding of the genetic literacy needs of minority populations and identify barriers for accessing and utilizing family history tools for health promotion and disease prevention. Results will be used both to refine existing family tools to make them understandable and accessible to minority groups (i.e., culturally and linguistically appropriate) and to develop dissemination approaches (i.e., delivery channels) so that tools may effectively reach these groups. These targeted family history tools and dissemination approaches will be developed and evaluated in future research to determine the efficacy of these tools in influencing factors that are essential for improved health outcomes. The ultimate goal of this research is to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes among underserved minorities through the use of more appropriate tools and delivery approaches. ? ? ?
| Wang, C; Gallo, R E; Fleisher, L et al. (2011) Literacy assessment of family health history tools for public health prevention. Public Health Genomics 14:222-37 |
