Using an innovative educational intervention to provide information about family history and inherited disease risk to underserved Latino communities

Knowing one's family history and sharing it with others is increasingly being recognized as an important disease prevention strategy. To reduce noted disparities in education and outreach amongst underserved populations, however, research is needed to develop culturally appropriate initiatives that present information about family history and inherited risk of disease in an understandable and usable form.

The present study is an innovative partnership between the National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Council of La Raza's Institute for Hispanic Health (NCLR-IHH). NCLR-IHH developed a culturally-tailored lay health advisor intervention based on discussion and skill building that is designed to increase knowledge and awareness about genetics and family history among Latinos and to motivate information seeking about family history. Pilot data indicated that the intervention increased participants' interest in seeking out family history information and sharing the information with others.

This study aims to examine information seeking behaviors about family history among Latinos; to assess the effect of participating in the intervention on these behaviors; and to examine the pathways by which the intervention might operate. Approximately 200 Spanish-speaking adult participants are being recruited through community-based clinics. We will present results concerning the effects of the intervention on information seeking about family history and the mechanisms by which the intervention might affect these behaviors.

Research illuminating how to educate underserved communities about family history is of critical importance if advances in understanding the inherited components of disease risk are to be utilized in ways that reduce health disparities.