A feasibility study to collect three generation family histories using a patient completed questionnaire provided by...

Assessing family history is an important part of routine family practice. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether patients can complete a take home questionnaire provided by their family physician. 564 eligible patients attached to a family practice in British Columbia were invited to participate in the study. The average age of invitees was 55.59 years old. Among them, 277 were male (49.1%) and 287 were female (50.8%). 89 participants returned a family history questionnaire, 15.78% response rate. The average age of participants was 65.8 and ranged from 22 to 92 years old. 32 participants were male (35.9%) and 57 were female (64.0%). Family history pedigrees were obtained from the questionnaires. Family history and pedigrees inform health care decisions as part of routine care and risk assessment in a family practice setting. Assessing family history in the workflow of a family physician's office will be important to integration of genetics and family medicine in the future. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of family history assessment in family practice.