Tips for Starting a Conversation About Family Health

Each year on Thanksgiving day, Americans are encouraged to spark conversations with their families about their family health history to observe National Family Health History Day. Use this time with your family to start a dialogue about the family's health and overall wellness.

What is Family Health? And Why is it Important?

Your family health is a collection of information outlining the health of your family members. Health history is more than just diagnosed diseases. It also includes behavior tendencies (Does someone in the family have trouble controlling their emotions?) and health habits (Do family members regularly exercise or do any relatives drink excessive amounts of alcohol?). Understanding your family health history and sharing that information with your doctor can help your doctor determine what screenings and prevention tips are right for you. Knowing your family's health can also help your doctor determine risks for future generations of your family.

Tips for Talking to Your Family About Health History

Talking about health and medical records can be difficult for some, especially when discussing health habits and mental health. Here are some tips to help you navigate those conversations.

• Explain why. Some relatives may not be open to telling the whole family about their medical conditions because they don't know its value. Let your family members know that they can help prevent or delay those same concerns for someone else in the family by sharing their health concerns. 
• Help educate your family about common hereditary conditions and health habits. Some people may believe that they should only share life-threatening or severe medical conditions with their family, such as cancer. However, sharing less serious conditions such as high blood pressure or asthma is just as important. Talk to your doctor about common hereditary conditions and relay information to family members to understand what they should share.  
• Start by sharing some of your own health concerns. One way to get the conversation going is to open up about your health. Maybe you don’t live with any hereditary conditions, but you struggle with smoking or have trouble regulating your mood, and you’re concerned these might be signs or triggers to a bigger health risk. You can also bring up well-known family health conditions, such as if a family member passed from cancer, and ask if anyone knows if other family members also had the condition. Giving concrete examples can help relatives visualize how each other's health affects one another.
• Celebrate the good health history as well as the concerns. Health history isn’t just about identifying health risks. It’s also about understanding positive health trends. Do members of your family regularly pass health screenings? Is your family free of smokers? Celebrate these wins to keep the conversation uplifting and hopeful.
• Ask questions. If family members aren't openly sharing information or insisting they don't have anything to share, ask questions to help open the dialogue. If you’ve shared you’ve recently had a mole removed, ask, “Has anyone else in the family had moles removed or suffered from skin cancer?” If you’ve let your family know you’ve been on antidepressants, ask, “Does anyone else ever feel depressed or anxious?” If you’re not getting substantial responses, try asking more open-ended questions such as, “What medical screenings do you regularly undergo,” or “What are some habits that could affect your health that you’d like to change, or that you are proud of?”
• Talk to your children as history happens. Kids should fully understand their family medical history by the time they start making their own medical decisions. Instead of waiting until kids are older, talk to your kids about health concerns within the family as they happen. If a grandparent develops cancer, such as breast or prostate, let your kids know. If your children are older, explain how some diseases can get passed down and how developing healthy habits, such as exercising and not smoking, can decrease their risk of developing the condition in the future.
• Encourage everyone to talk to their doctors. Knowing about your family health history is great, but it’s only the first step in preventing or delaying conditions. Record the information about your family’s health in a binder or on a sharable computer document, and make sure all members of the family have access to it. Then, encourage relatives to share the information with their doctors.

How Visiting Angels Can Help

If you or an aging loved one suffers from a hereditary condition and needs assistance with daily activities, the caregivers at Visiting Angels Atlanta East can help. Our team of trained professionals can assist with everything from light housekeeping and personal grooming to transportation to doctor's visits and medication reminders. If you reside in Atlanta, Buckhead, Decatur, Vinings, or the surrounding Georgia communities and you'd like to learn more about Visiting Angels' services, give us a call at 404.358.5877.