Journal article
Family health information sharing among older adults: reaching more family members
Journal of community genetics, Vol.6(1), pp.17-27
01/2015
DOI: 10.1007/s12687-014-0197-x
PMCID: PMC4286562
PMID: 25074679
Abstract
Although family health history (FHH) information has tremendous potential in the prevention of common complex diseases such as heart disease and cancer, lack of knowledge about one’s own FHH among the public hinders its utility. Older individuals often desire to contribute to the well-being of younger generations and also play critical roles in disseminating this information. This study evaluated psychosocial factors associated with the extent of FHH communication within families. Older adults (
N
= 110) were interviewed at three senior centers in an urban community. Multivariate Poisson regression analysis showed that respondents who received FHH from a parent reported 41 % more family members with whom they shared FHH (
b
= 0.34,
p
< 0.001) controlling for the family network size. Furthermore, one unit increase in the number of family members with whom respondents exchange reciprocal emotional support (
b
= 0.04,
p
< 0.01), perceived familiarity with own FHH (
b
= 0.14,
p
= 0.01), and self-efficacy to share FHH (
b
= 0.18,
p
= 0.02) were associated with 4, 15, and 20 % increases in the number of family members with whom respondents shared FHH, respectively. Future efforts may inform older adults about their important role in modeling FHH communication behavior to encourage information sharing in future generations while providing information about how to collect and disseminate FHH to increase their familiarity and ability to share FHH within the family.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Family health information sharing among older adults: reaching more family members
- Creators
- Sato Ashida - Department of Community and Behavioral Health, Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, University of Iowa College of Public Health, 145 N. Riverside Drive, N422 CPHB, Iowa City, IA 52242 USAEllen J Schafer - Department of Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA 52242 USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of community genetics, Vol.6(1), pp.17-27
- DOI
- 10.1007/s12687-014-0197-x
- PMID
- 25074679
- PMCID
- PMC4286562
- NLM abbreviation
- J Community Genet
- ISSN
- 1868-310X
- eISSN
- 1868-6001
- Publisher
- Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Berlin/Heidelberg
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/2015
- Academic Unit
- Injury Prevention Research Center; Public Policy Center (Archive); Community and Behavioral Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984063135902771
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