Risk Perception Based on Family Health History

Family health history has an important role in the delivery of health care in understanding current and potential disease risks and providing preventive information for individuals and their family members to decrease their risk and promote positive lifestyle changes. Since many common diseases have underlying genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors, how an individual evaluates and perceives their risk for a disease based on their family's history is critical in determining how individuals and family members make decisions for health surveillance behaviors. Following an introduction and historical context of risk perception based on family health history, this entry focuses on factors and Stressors influencing risk perception, genomics, and family communication of risk information. A special focus will be aimed toward recommendations for interventions to address risk ...