Developing community-based health education strategies with family history: Assessing the association between community resident family history and interest in health education

This study examines the role that FH plays in perceived threat and health education related to mental and chronic physical conditions in the context of the health belief model.MethodsData were collected from 1,048 adult participants aged 18–90 years. Approximately 76% of participants indicated African-American race/ethnicity and 35% had less than high school level education. Self-report data were collected on FH of four disorders: anxiety, depression, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Interest in receiving information regarding prevention as well as future testing efforts was assessed broadly.A series of logistic regressions examined the association between FH for each of the disorders and interest in receiving information on (1) prevention of diseases in general and (2) testing for diseases in general. These associations were also analyzed after accounting for the influence of perceived threat of conditions.ResultsInterest in receiving general health education was significantly associated with FH of depression (OR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.74–4.25), anxiety (OR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.45–3.22), and high blood pressure (OR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.05–6.12). After adjustment for perceived threat, the magnitude of these associations was reduced substantially. The associations between perceived threat and either interest in receiving information on disease testing or receiving general health education were strong and significant across all conditions (OR = 2.1...
Source: Social Science and Medicine - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research