Family Health History Toolkit
Use the Family Health History Toolkit to help you talk about your family health history, write down what you learn, and then share it with your doctor and family members.
Family Health History Toolkit PDF (Includes all fact sheets listed below.)
Spanish Family Health History Toolkit
Senior-friendly Toolkit pdf (Adapted for use by older adults. Includes all fact sheets listed below.)
Health Family Tree tool pdf (Make copies of this box for each member of your family to keep a record of their health history.)
Poster (11x17 inch pdf) - includes information on how to order a Family Health History Toolkit
Family Health History Fact Sheets
- 10 Questions to Ask Your Family
- Questions and Answers
- Genealogy Resources (Describes the types of records that contain health information and how to access them)
- When to See a Genetic Counselor
- Fun Ideas
- Turkey Talk Health Discussion
U.S. Surgeon General's Family Health History Initiative
By knowing your family health history, you can save your life! A tool to help collect your family health history, called "My Family Health Portrait", is available at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website.
- English online tool
- English print version tool
- Spanish online tool
- Spanish print version tool
- Chinese print version tool
- French print version tool
- Polish print version tool
- Portuguese print version tool
- US Surgeon General family health history posters for providers
Family Health History - Family Reunion Packets
These materials have been designed especially for you - the Family Reunion Organizer! Use these materials at your next family reunion to help your family members learn why family health history is important and how to collect one. It just may save a loved one's life!
Download the entire Family Reunion Packet or individual sections below.
- Welcome Letter
- Fun Ideas to Get Your Family Talking
- Health Family Tree box
- 10 Questions to Ask Your Family
- Genetics Reference Guide (designed to help familiarize you with genetics)
- Family Traits Trivia game
- Handy Family Tree activity
- Tree of Genetic Traits activity
Other Family Health History Resources
- Utahealthnet.org provides reliable information on many health problems that can run in families
- Family Health History Fact Sheets On
- Family Health History: Knowing your past can protect your future PowerPoint presentation
Using Family Health History to Improve Your Health curriculum
This curriculum was developed by the Genetic Science Learning Center. It meets state and national high school biology and health education standards. By completing this module students will understand that the risk for developing common chronic diseases has both a hereditary and environmental component, and understand what it means to be “at risk” for developing these diseases.
Activities include:
- Lesson plan
- Risk Continuum - A whole-class kinesthetic demonstration of what it means to be in a"risk group" for developing heart disease based on family history/genetics.
- Pick the Risk: The Polygenic Pedigree Challenge - Students are challenged to track and record the passage of colored candies (representing genes) through generations of a family using a pedigree. Students learn that common diseases run in families and are caused by the combined action of multiple genes.
- Using Family History to Improve Your Health Web Quest - Students explore the Using Family History to Improve Your Health module on the Genetic Science Learning Center website to complete a web quest.
- Reduce Your Risk: A Promotional Campaign - Students design a promotional campaign that educates their peer group about how to prevent common diseases.
Introduction to Heredity curriculum
- Family Traits and Traditions - Students learn to differentiate between inherited and acquired traits as they play a make-a-match game with their families.
- Handy Family Tree - Students learn about inherited and acquired traits as they involve family members in creating a handprint family tree. This art project is great for traditional and non-traditional families alike.
- Family Traits Trivia - This family activity encourages students to observe the shared traits of family members, as well as the combination of traits that makes them unique.
Family Health History: Source
The family health history tools and resources were provided by the Utah Department of Health. We greatly appreciate them providing these excellent tools.
