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Strengthen the Evidence for Maternal and Child Health Programs

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Family Health History

Professional Resource Brief

Websites

CDC Family Health History Resources & Tools
Online family history tools and guidelines developed for the general public, including downloadable forms and questionnaires, Web-based information-collection systems and guidelines on compiling a family health history.

Genetic Alliance: Family Health History Resources
 Publications such as Does It Run in the Family Toolkit and How Do I Talk to My Family About My Genetic Condition? as well as How-To Guides, and other resources on understanding genetics and family health history. Many of the resources are offered in in English and Spanish.

March of Dimes: Your Family Health History
Information on gathering a family health history, a preconception/prenatal family health questionnaire, and links to information about a variety of genetic conditions.

MedlinePlus: Family History
Overviews, news, publications, research findings, clinical trials, and links to related information and organizations.

National Library of Medicine (NLM), Genetics Home Reference Handbook
Page on the importance of family health history with links to additional information.

NIH National Human Genome Research Institute’s Family History Initiative (NHGRI)
Public health campaign on the importance of family health history, with public service announcements, demonstration projects, and online tools and resources. Also includes the NHGRI and the U.S. Surgeon General's Family History Initiative, My Family Health Portrait, a Web-based tool to help users organize family-history information and then print it out for the family health professional. In addition, the tool helps users save their family history information to their own computer.


Additional Resources from the MCH Digital Library

Authors: Beth DeFrancis Sun, M.L.S.; Olivia K. Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Digital Library
May 2009. Reviewed July 2012. Updated November 2024.

The MCH Digital Library is one of six special collections at Geogetown University, the nation's oldest Jesuit institution of higher education. It is supported in part by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under award number U02MC31613, MCH Advanced Education Policy with an award of $700,000/year. The library is also supported through foundation and univerity funding. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.