Knowing Your Family Health History

Question: My husband and I are going back to our hometown for the holidays. Both sets of parents still live in our hometown area so we will be able to visit with everyone. We have made a list of topics to discuss with them such as advance directives, wills, and power of attorney documents. Is there anything else we should be thinking about?

Answer: The United States Department of Health and Human Services recently launched a Family Health History Initiative to encourage all of us to learn more about our families' health background in order to increase awareness about risk categories and promote healthy lifestyle changes. It is important to thoroughly understand the health issues and causes of death for previous generations so we can understand our own areas of vulnerability.

Physicians are much better prepared to practice preventative medicine when they have a comprehensive health background for each of their patients. Without this prior knowledge, even the most modern equipment and medical research cannot effectively treat a disease before the disease is evident. Gathering this information is not only important for your aging relatives, but also for you, your children, and generations to come.

To assist you in gathering relevant health information, the federal Health and Human Services Department developed a free computer program that organizes and prints out family information. This information can easily be reviewed by medical personnel and placed in a file at a physician's office or hospital. Another copy should be kept in a home file system with other legal documents. The tool can be downloaded at http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/.

Pat yourself on the back for being proactive and initiating "caring conversations" that are vitally important as family members age. Being prepared will lessen the emotional shock if one day you are suddenly thrust into the middle of a health care crisis with one of your parents. In addition to the topics you mentioned, you should also ask your parents for their thoughts on accepting in-home services and their personal preferences for funeral planning.

Family gatherings are the perfect opportunity to collect important family health information of past relatives that could potentially benefit all family members. But, be careful to pace yourself—don't overwhelm everyone and forget to enjoy the holidays. Getting started is the toughest step and finishing the discussion can occur during your next family gathering.