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Running head: GENETIC FAMILY HISTORY ASSESSMENT
Genetic Family History Assessment
Sharie McNeil
Ohio University
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GENETIC FAMILY HISTORY ASSESSMENT
Genetic Family History Assessment
A family’s history is extremely important especially when there is a known family
history of any disease or disorder. Health issues among families can range from diabetes to
cancer or from cystic fibrosis to sickle cell disease. Using the skills obtained nurses can conduct
genetic nursing assessments to help patients and families identify family members who may be at
risk for inheriting a health disorder. Interested to know if I am unaware of any health risks to
myself or my children I have decided to conduct a genetic family health history assessment on a
friend who has a family history of cancer. By the end of the assessment I hope to be able to
identify interventions to address any risks or newly discovered issues that may affect my friend,
the patient.
Family Members and Health History
This patient’s immediate family member includes her mother, her father and both
grandparents on each side of the family. The patient’s father is a sixty-eight years old, living with
known health issues of hypertension, heart disease, coronary artery disease (CAD) and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patient’s grandfather on dad side of the family passed
away at age seventy of heart related issues. Grandfather was known to have heart disease and
memory loss. Patient’s grandmother on the dad’s side of the family passed away at seventy-four
years old after struggling with diabetes and obesity.
On the mother’s side of the family, the patient’s mother passed away at age fifty-six with
breast cancer and no other known health issues. Patient’s grandmother passed away at age sixty
with cervical cancer. Patient’s grandfather passed away at eighty-five years old patient assuming
due to living at old age with heart issues. This patient has two siblings, one brother still living
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GENETIC FAMILY HISTORY ASSESSMENT
age thirty-nine and a sister who passed away less than a year ago at age thirty five due to cervical
cancer.
Family Members’ Ethnic Background, Reproductive History, Growth and Development
All of the patient’s family members are African-American except her grandmother on her
mother side of the family she was bi-racial mixed with Caucasian and African-American
ethnicities. Nurses are to provide genetic education, counseling, screening options and support
while incorporating the patient’s attitude, value’s, and beliefs rooted in different ethnic, cultural,
social and religious backgrounds (Greco, Tinley, Seibert, 2012). Therefore, it is important to take
in consideration the African-American ethnical background and the risks associated with cancer
and other medical health issues.
Reproductive history of the family’s history on the mother side as to how many
pregnancies the mother and grandmother had and of any known medical issues with those
pregnancies. Considering gene disorders are caused by reproduction it is important for the nurse
to assess reproductive history of the family so that early interventions can be put in play.
Therefore, this assessment would be asking about immediate siblings of the patient’s mother who
would be aunts and uncles in the family.
To the patient’s knowledge, her mother, who passed away with breast cancer, had three
children, two girls and one boy. One of the girls passed away with cervical cancer. Her
grandmother had three children, two girls and one boy, one girl passed away with breast cancer
which was the patient’s mother. Her aunt and uncle are living, maintaining health with no known
genetic gene disorders or major health issues. The patient has no known growth and
developmental issues within her family history. Obtaining and assessing the risk in a family
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GENETIC FAMILY HISTORY ASSESSMENT
history of genetic disorders has the potential to help reduce the risk and prevent the onset of
disorders, the consequences, morbidity and mortality of the inherited gene disorder or disease
(Calzone et al., 2010) .
Family Understanding of Genetic Health Risks
After a brief assessment of the parent’s family history it’s easy to see that cancer is an
inherited disease that runs on her mother side of the family and heart disease runs on her father’s
side of the family. As the nurse I assessed the patient’s knowledge as to her understanding of the
known cancers that run in her family and the risk of inheriting the disease.
Women with a genetic family history of breast and cervical cancer can reduce the risk of
the condition with provided explanations to understand the information and options available to
family member (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Robinson, 2018). The patient expressed her concern
and anxiety about the risk of obtaining the gene disorder. I advised the patient that due to a
strong family history of breast and cervical cancer in her family that seeing a genetic family
cancer specialist will help provide early risk prevention and screening options. I also advised the
patient to speak to her immediate first and second generation female family members about the
risk and screening options available.
Genetic Health Risk Problems and Nursing Interventions for Genetic Risk Reduction
With cancer coming in many forms and affecting both men and women, I was happy to
know that the patients questioned the risk of cancer in general or if it was specifically breast and
cervical cancer affecting the women in the family. With my family nurse hat on I continued to
educate the patient about the risks of men in the family inheriting a cancer gene disorder.
Although there are no known carries of prostate or breast cancer carries among the men in her
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GENETIC FAMILY HISTORY ASSESSMENT
family, they should be educated of the risk and notified of screening options available. When a
family member has a hereditary gene disease or disorder the whole family is affected, therefore
communication within the family about the risk is important to disclose (Gallo, Angst, Knafl,
2009). It is important for nurses playing the role of genetic counselor to take in consideration
how disclosed information may affect the family and cause distress.
To help reduce the genetic health risk of breast and cervical cancer for the patient nurses
should provide resources that will be helpful to the patient and family. As the nurse, I
implemented interventions such as providing educational material about breast and cervical
cancer in efforts to make patient fully aware. I also suggested early screening options and
provided resources to engage in ovarian and cervical cancer screenings. Not want to overwhelm
the patient lastly, I advised the patient to modify her lifestyle by taking the first steps to quit
smoking. I all provided information to smoking cessation classes and support groups available in
her community. This patient requires other medical health issues to be addressed such as the
depression due to the recent loss of her sister and mother to breast and cervical cancer. The
patient will also benefit from mental health services to address the acute anxiety about the risks
of testing positive with a genetic disease.
In conclusion, as the nurse I advised the patient to take it one step at a time and encouraged her
to reach out to friends and family for support. There are several genetic test and screening
options available to patients and their families. Nurses are on the front line of care and are
encouraged to be knowledgeable about genetic and genomic health care options and should be
prepared to address any ethical, spiritual, emotional, and social issues that the patient may
experience.
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GENETIC FAMILY HISTORY ASSESSMENT
References
Calzone, K. A., Cashion, A., Feetham, S., Jenkins, J., Prows, C., Williams, J. & Wung, S. F.
(2010). Nurses transforming health care using genetics and genomics. Nursing Outlook,
58(1), 26-35. Retrieved from: https://catmailohio.sharepoint.com/sites/chsp-
nursing/Department%20Document%20Library/SoN-Course-Files/RN-BSN%20Course
%20Files/NRSE_4530_MASTER/MODULE_2/INSTRUCTIONAL_MATERTIALS/RE
COMMENDED_RESOURCES/4530_M2_IM_Nurses_transforming_Healthcare_using_
Genetics.pdf
Gallo, A. M., Angst, D. B., & Knafl, K. A. (2009). Disclosure of genetic information within
families: How nurses can facilitate family communication. The American journal of
nursing, 109(4), 65-69. Retrieved from: https://catmailohio.sharepoint.com/sites/chsp-
nursing/Department%20Document%20Library/SoN-Course-Files/RN-BSN%20Course
%20Files/NRSE_4530_MASTER/MODULE_2/INSTRUCTIONAL_MATERTIALS/RE
COMMENDED_RESOURCES/4530_M2_IM_Disclosure_of_genetic_info.pdf
Greco, K. E., Tinley, S. & Seibert, D. (2012) Essential competencies in genetic and genomic for
nurses with graduate gegrees. Retrieved from: https://www.genome.gov/Pages/Health/
HealthCareProvidersInfo/Grad_Gen_Comp.pdf
Kaakinen, J.R., Coehlo, D.P., Steele, R. & Robinson, M. (2018). Family health care nursing:
Theory, practice and research (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
