Family Pedigree Pager
Name
Institution
Family Pedigree Pager
Part A: Family Pedigree
Note: The names used are arbitrary for confidentiality.
Note: Members stroke with red line means they are dead.
Part B: Analysis Family Pedigree
The purpose of this essay is to analyze family genetic health risks by going over three generations of a family and their health history, their reproductive history, and discuss with the family members if they know to what extent the causes of their health issues. Besides, I will raise questions about family genetic risks and nursing interventions to relate to the selected family. Genetics plays a big part in a person’s medical and health risks, and it is an essential piece to the puzzle when assessing a patient.
The family members chosen to work with are my parents, my grandparents, and I and my siblings. My mom is 55, while dad is 62. My paternal grandfather is 94, and my paternal grandmother is deceased. My maternal grandma is 83, and my maternal grandpa is also 87. I have nine siblings, and I am not going to say all of their names and ages, but the age range is from 8 years old to 28 years old.
Part C: Reflection on Family Health
When it comes to family health history between my parents and grandparents, it’s not quite extensive. My dad truly is blessed and has no ailments; he takes no medication for anything, not even blood pressure! My mom is quite healthy as well, although she does have prehypertension but takes no medication for it. My paternal grandfather at 92 has only ever been in the hospital for one thing, and that’s when he broke his hip. Other than that, all he takes is medicine for his blood pressure (he’s Italian and has outstanding genetics, he will probably live forever). My maternal grandmother died of breast cancer many years ago, before I was even born. Other than that, she also has a very healthy background and no issues other than cancer. My maternal grandmother has type 2 diabetes, has high blood pressure, is obese, has hypothyroid, and is entirely blind. My maternal grandfather has had a heart attack, a CABG done; he has type 2 diabetes, and hypertension as well. As far as I know, none of my siblings are at an age, yet they have anything like heart problems or diabetes. My little brother has asthma, my older sister has Raynaud’s disease, and my younger sister is dyslexic, but other than that, my siblings are surprisingly healthy! I think we mostly get it from my dad’s side.
When it comes to reproductive history, none of my siblings have children yet, but of course, my parents had ten children altogether. My paternal predecessors had a family of two children, while that of my maternal antecedents is made up of six children.
My paternal side is all Italian, my dad, and both grandparents (they came to the US from Italy). According to the WHO, nearly 2 in every three deaths in Italians are caused by cardiovascular disease, which makes them prone to hypertension, heart attacks, heart disease, etc. (2017). On my paternal side, my mother and her parents are all Polish/Irish, which heart disease is also the leading cause of death with those ethnicities (HealthData, 2017). No one in my family has any growth and development issues unless some people would call dyslexia a development issue. To my knowledge, no one else in my family and even extended family has it other than my little sister.
When it comes to my family, knowing the extent of their health issues, they are very educated. My dad is a doctor, so we have always grown up knowing a lot about the basics of health. My mom knows that she probably is prone to heart problems because of her dad, and honestly, I think her high blood pressure has a lot to do with her being so stressed out all the time raising ten kids. My maternal grandpa is very educated on his diseases and takes great care in treating them. He keeps tight control of his diabetes, and I always remember seeing him check his blood sugar and giving himself insulin at meals. I also cannot remember the last time I saw him eat dessert!
On the other hand, my maternal grandmother does not believe in western medicine, which is strange because she used to be a nurse. She does not believe that modern medicine can do anything for her illnesses, which is why she is blind. She doesn’t want to listen when my doctor’s dad tries to tell her she needs real medical help; instead, she usually finds some answer through an herb or listens to her astrologist’s ideas.
When it comes to interventions for my family, I think it could be interesting and compelling for my dad and I to team up and provide education for those in my family with diseases and ailments they are dealing with. I feel as though we could encourage my mom and the grandparents to look deeper into their family health history to figure out what diseases they are at risk for, especially genetic ones. The NIH writes that family history has one of the most substantial impacts on our health and can be the first step to reducing one’s health risks (2020). I might even suggest to my parents to get genetic testing done as well as recommend it to my older siblings as some of them are preparing to start a family soon. Kaakinen writes that genetic testing can show your risk for cancers and diabetes, which both run in my family (2018).
In conclusion, family health is much more important than some may think. Genetics plays a huge role in people’s lives, and they may not even realize it. With education and genetic testing, families can figure out what they are at risk for and begin to think about a health plan for themselves and their families.
References
European Commission. (2017). Italy Country Health Profile, 2017. Retrieved from
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/355985/Health-Profile-Italy-Eng.pdf?ua=1
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.
National Library of Medicine. (2020). Why is it important to know my family’s medical history? –
Genetics Home Reference – NIH. Retrieved May 22, 2020, from https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/inheritance/familyhistory
World Health Organization. (2017, September 15). Poland. Retrieved from
http://www.healthdata.org/poland