Celebrating National Family Health History Day - Genetics Home Reference

Bulletins - Genetics Home Reference

Celebrating National Family Health History Day

National Family Health History Day is celebrated on November 23, 2017.
Every year, the U.S. Surgeon General declares Thanksgiving Day to be National Family Health History Day. A family health history is a record of medical and health information about a person and his or her blood relatives. It can give clues to conditions that may run in a family and can help identify individuals who are at an increased risk of developing those conditions.
The easiest way to get information about family health history is to talk with relatives about their past and current health issues. The Surgeon General suggests that a good time to collect this health information is when family is gathered together for the Thanksgiving holiday. During this time, multiple generations of family, who might not often talk with one another, can discuss health issues and answer questions. This family gathering is a valuable opportunity to collect an accurate family health history.
Several resources are available to collect and record health information about family members at any time of year. It is important to keep this information up-to-date and share it with a health care professional regularly.
• Why is it important to know my family medical history? (Genetics Home Reference)
• Surgeon General's Family Health History Initiative (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
• Family Health History (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Take Stock of Health History with Family Members This Thanksgiving (National Human Genome Research Institute)
• Family Health History (Genetic Alliance)
• Family History Resources (National Society of Genetic Counselors)
• Una Guía Para el Historial de Salud Familiar (La Alianza Genética) (PDF)
• Family Health Tools in Different Languages (Bringham and Women's Hospital (UK))
• The Importance of Taking and Drawing a Family Health History (The Centre for Genetics Education (Australia)) (PDF)
• Understanding Genetics: Pedigree and Family History Taking (NCBI Bookshelf)