Genetic Alliance released an RFP for organizations to use an online tool to customize the Does It Run In the Family? toolkit, including “A Guide to Family Health History” and “A Guide for Understanding Genetics and Health.” Awardess will use the toolkit within existing programs and initiatives to seamlessly integrate conversations about family health history into diverse communities across the country.
Angioma Alliance will use the Does It Run In the Family? toolkit to educate a broad audience in New Mexico about the Common Hispanic Mutation, a form of cavernous angiomas traced to the original Spanish settlers of 1598. Angioma Alliance will partner with the city of Santa Fe and the state of New Mexico to distribute booklets through clinics, physicians, public awareness events. They will encourage newly diagnosed and at risk patients to become keystone family members who educate others. www.angiomaalliance.org
Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center will customize the Does It Run In the Family? toolkit to be used within one current program, a culturally competent and comprehensive system of care for those with sickle cell disease and trait, focused on increasing patient, public, and professional awareness of sickle cell disease. The toolkit will be distributed to current patients, future referrals, parent support groups, and community outreach programs at the Brooklyn Public Library, school PTAs, faith-based institutions, and other local organizations. www.brookdale.edu
The
Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy is partnering with the Department of Employee Occupational Health & Wellness to incorporate the
Does It Run In the Family? toolkit into the Duke Employee Health program, LIVE FOR LIFE
The Genomedical Connection will partner with congregational nurse programs and military reserve units to educate Guilford County, NC, residents about family health history through community presentations, health fairs, and more. One focus will be on ‘kin keepers,’ individuals in a family who spread news, arrange get-togethers, and otherwise promote solidarity and unity among family members. www.genomedical.com
Heredity Project, a genetic literacy project for the general public, will partner with staff and members of Curves-Midtown Memphis, TN, to customize the Does It Run In the Family? toolkit with stories collected from gym members. Curves is an international fitness franchise with a reputation for providing outreach to members to promote healthy lifestyle choices; Heredity Project will use this novel partnership to garner local and national media coverage in order to promote awareness of the value of knowing one’s family health history. heredityproject.org
The Lesbian and Gay Family Building Project of the Ferre Institute, Inc. will use the toolkit within their existing Family Health History Initiative to engage 300 LGBT families in the upstate New York area to determine what family history information, if any, they are collecting. Booklets will be distributed to promote health awareness, and the services of a genetic counselor will be offered to families who have questions during health history collection. www.ferre.org
Progreso Latino will unite multiple generations, cultures, and languages around family health history through its many program areas - Senior Citizen, Youth, Wellness – and social services, including English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), GED, citizenship classes, and a bi-lingual preschool. The project will culminate in a family health history celebration, including a play created by program participants, bringing together community members of all ages. www.progresolatino.org
Southern Missouri Telehealth Genetics Services will use telehealth technology to bring family health history information to individuals without immediate access to a healthcare provider. In addition, SMTGS will utilize its extensive telehealth network to reach out to partner groups in each region of southern Missouri, including libraries, home and garden shows, early childhood fairs, radio stations, and career enhancement scholars programs to bring family health history discussion to audiences not traditionally focused on health.
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Medicine will incorporate the Does It Run In the Family? toolkit into the College of Medicine curriculum to be used by medical students learning to take family medical histories and as an educational resource for their future parents. The Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening Collaborative will facilitate additional dissemination of the customized booklets. www.medicine.ouhsc.edu
West Side Community Health Services works with the Hmong population in and around St. Paul, MN. The toolkit will be customized for the Hmong community to increase their knowledge about the relevance of family health history and genetics to health, and clarify issues of heredity in a culturally competent manner for a group steeped in traditional ideas about inheritance and illness. www.westsidechs.org
