Posted By: Consuelo H. Wilkins, MD 
April is Minority Health Month, which recognizes the range of health conditions that unequally impact the health of many minority populations. These health disparities or health inequities have existed for decades and continue to exist despite advances in medical treatments and technology.
For the first time, the National Institutes of Health is hosting Minority Health Promotion Day on April 19, 2012. This effort represents a slight shift in focus from emphasizing the struggles in eliminating health disparities to promoting health and healthy behaviors. This is an important shift because for many minorities the focus on health disparities present very negative images about health and health outcomes. This negative portrayal of minority health can have the opposite of the intended effect. Instead of motivating minority groups to help address the disparities, the negative images could lead to attitudes that these health disparities are so unequal and complex that little can be done to improve health. Therefore it is critically important that any communication providing negative health information be followed with strategies for improving health.
Promoting health and encouraging healthy behaviors remains a challenging and complex task. Changing individual human behavior involves
An often overlooked component of improving health is recognizing the importance of knowing your individual family health history. Many minority cultures do not discuss health and health history, even among close families members. It is not uncommon for African Americans to attend the funeral of a relative and be unaware of the cause of death. A person?s health history is considered ?personal and private? and if the individual doesn?t volunteer the information, often friends and family don?t ask.
That?s why incorporating health history into routine activities can make it easier to obtain. If we wait until someone is sick or dies, it can be more challenging. Family reunions and other family gatherings provide a great opportunity to learn about your family, especially your family history.
At your family reunion or any other upcoming family event, consider putting together your Family Health Portrait. The Surgeon General has developed an online tool that allows you to input your health information and the health information of your family members including those who have already passed away. This health history can be made available to all of your family and can be printed to give to your doctor.
You don?t have to use this tool, you can put together your own family health tree. Some important things to include-
A list of the most common illnesses and who, if anyone, in your family had/has the illness. If your family prefers not to list names, just list each person as male or female, the age they were diagnosed, and what age the died if they are deceased.
Be sure to include- heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, colon cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer.
Ask your family if there are other conditions that ?run? in the family and if there are any ?rare? conditions that have occurred in the family.
You can even make the event into a ?trivia? type game to see who knows the most about family. Obviously, the answers aren?t trivial and can be life-saving.
Knowing your family health history is very important. The only way that you can write your own health history is to know your risk factors and work to prevent or control conditions that are common in your family.
There are many strategies that allow you to focus on improving your individual health outcomes. Recognizing your own family?s health history can allow you to take a more specific approach to your health. To learn more about the Surgeon General?s Family History Initiative, visit www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/
Read more from the St. Louis American:?http://www.stlamerican.com/your_health_matters/health_news/
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