Senior Research Fellow, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Leeds, UK.
Health Expect. 2014 Dec;17(6):818-25. doi: 10.1111/j.1369-7625.2012.00808.x. Epub 2012 Aug 13.
Family history is often referred to as a family tree in casual everyday conservations, but it carries a different connotation in medicine. This study is the first to investigate people's understanding of 'family medical history' and the concept of 'family' in the context of inherited cancer.
Three hundred and nine staff at the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds completed an online web survey.
Not all respondents understood or knew what makes a family history of cancer. Only 54% knew exactly the type of information required to make a family history. Apart from blood relatives, adopted and step-siblings, step parents, in-laws, spouses, friends and colleagues were also named as 'family' for family history taking. Personal experience of living with cancer and academic qualification were not significant in influencing knowledge of family history.
There is misunderstanding and poor knowledge of family history of cancer and the type of information required to make a family history even in a sample of people teaching and researching medicine and health issues. Public understanding of the value of family medical history in cancer prevention and management is important if informed clinical decisions and appropriate health care are to be delivered.
在日常随意的交谈中，人们通常将家族史称为家族谱，但在医学领域，它有着不同的含义。本研究首次调查了人们在遗传性癌症背景下对“家族医学史”和“家族”概念的理解。
利兹大学医学与健康学院的 309 名员工完成了一项在线网络调查。
并非所有受访者都理解或知道什么是癌症家族史。只有 54%的人确切知道制作家族史所需的信息类型。除了血缘亲属、领养和继兄弟姐妹、继父母、姻亲、配偶、朋友和同事之外，人们也将其称为家族史采集的“家族”。与癌症共同生活的个人经历和学历在影响家族史知识方面并不重要。
即使在教授和研究医学和健康问题的人群样本中，对癌症家族史和制作家族史所需信息类型的理解也存在误解和知识匮乏。如果要做出明智的临床决策和提供适当的医疗保健，公众对家族医疗史在癌症预防和管理中的价值的理解非常重要。
