Heart disease risk information, encouragement, and physical activity among Mexican-origin couples: Self- or spouse-driven change?

Family health history is an accessible, clinically-recommended genomic tool that improves health risk evaluation. It captures both genetic and modifiable risk factors that cluster within families. Thus, families represent a salient context for family health history-based interventions that motivate engagement in risk-reducing behaviors. While previous research has explored how individuals respond to their personal risk information, we extend this inquiry to consider how individuals respond to their spouse's risk information among a sample of Mexican-Americans. One hundred and sixty spouse-dyads within Mexican-heritage households received a pedigree or a pedigree and personalized risk assessments, with or without behavioral recommendations. Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted to assess the relationship between risk feedback, both personal and spouse, and self-reported physical activity levels at 3-month and 10-month assessments, controlling for baseline levels. The effect of being identified as an encourager of spouse's healthy weight was also evaluated. Personal feedback had no effect on participants' physical activity at either 3- or 10-month assessments. However, husbands' risk information was associated with wives' physical activity levels at 3-month assessment, with women whose husbands received both increased risk feedback and behavioral recommendations engaging in significantly higher physical activity levels than all other women. At 10-month follow-up, physical activity levels for both husbands and wives differed depending on whether they encouraged their spouse's healthy weight. Spousal risk information may be a stronger source of motivation to improve physical activity patterns than personal risk information, particularly for women. Interventions that activate interpersonal encouragement among spouses may more successfully extend intervention effects.

The importance of older family members in providing social resources and promoting cancer screening in families with a hereditary cancer syndrome.

PURPOSE: This study evaluates the role of older family members as providers of social resources within familial network systems affected by an inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome. DESIGN AND METHODS: Respondents who previously participated in a study that involved genetic counseling and testing for Lynch syndrome and their family network members were invited to participate in a onetime telephone interview about family communication. RESULTS: A total of 206 respondents from 33 families identified 2,051 social relationships (dyads). Nineteen percent of the respondents and 25% of the network members were older (≥60 years). Younger respondents (≤59 years) were more likely to nominate older network members as providers of social resources than younger members: instrumental support (odds ratio [OR] = 1.68), emotional support (OR = 1.71), help in crisis situation (OR = 2.04), and dependability when needed (OR = 2.15). Compared with younger network members, older members were more likely to be listed as encouragers of colon cancer screening by both younger (OR = 3.40) and older respondents (OR = 1.90) independent of whether support exchange occurred in the relationship. IMPLICATIONS: Engaging older network members in health interventions to facilitate screening behaviors and emotional well-being of younger members within families affected by inherited conditions may be beneficial. Findings can be used to empower older individuals about their important social roles in enhancing the well-being of their family members and to inform younger individuals about their older relatives' resourcefulness to facilitate positive social interactions.

Willingness of Mexican-American adults to share family health history with healthcare providers.

BACKGROUND: Collecting family health history (FHH) information to share with healthcare providers is an important aspect of health-risk assessment. PURPOSE: To examine associations between the content of FHH-informed risk feedback and willingness to share the information with a healthcare provider. METHODS: Data were collected between June 2008 and July 2009 from 475 Mexican-origin adults residing in 161 households. Participants completed surveys 3 months after receiving FHH-informed risk feedback. Households were randomly assigned to feedback conditions in which household members received one or more of the following: an FHH pedigree, personalized risk assessments (PRAs), and tailored behavioral recommendations. Logistic regression models were fitted using generalized estimating equations, with exchangeable covariances, to account for the clustering of responses within and the random assignment of feedback condition to household. Analyses were completed in May 2010. RESULTS: Participants who received personalized risk assessments were more willing to share their feedback with a provider than those who received a pedigree only (OR=2.25, p=0.02). The receipt of tailored behavioral recommendations did not significantly increase willingness to share feedback with a provider (OR=0.79, p=0.48). CONCLUSIONS: The provision of PRAs in FHH assessments appears to motivate participants to consider sharing their FHH with a healthcare provider.