The javascript used on this site for creative design effects is not supported by your browser. Please note that this will not affect access to the content on this web site.
Skip Navigation
H H S Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
Maternal and Child Health

A-Z Index  |  Questions?  |  Order Publications

Training and Education in Genetics for Maternal and Child Health Professionals

Training and education in genetics for maternal and child health (MCH) health professionals initiatives support programs for MCH practitioners in all health and public health professions.

Advances in genetics help improve scientific understanding of diseases, and present the challenge of incorporating this information and technology into MCH health care and public health practices. Therefore, ensuring that MCH health care and public health practitioners are aware of how advances in genetics affect health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, and management for the MCH population is imperative.

Activities

Training and education in newborn screening and genetics for MCH health professionals initiatives help MCH health care and public health providers integrate the latest findings of newborn screening and genetic research into their practices. To this end, the Genetic Services Branch supports the following:

The Genetics in Primary Care Institute provides models, best practices, and dissemination strategies for ensuring optimal integration of genetic medicine content and concepts into primary care practice.

The Family History for Prenatal Care Providers project is developing an interactive, point-of-care family history and genetic screening tool for primary-care providers delivering prenatal care. The project is the product of multiple collaborations, lead by the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG) and includes a partnership with Harvard Partners, March of Dimes, and the Genetic Alliance.

The Family Health History Integration into Community Health Centers project is integrating the Does It Run In the Family? toolkit into six HRSA-funded Community Health Centers across the country. The project educates Health Center providers and staff—along with the patients and community members they serve— about Does It Run In the Family?, and through this tool explain the use and importance of family health history in practice across the lifespan.

MCH funded Resources

The National Consumer Center for Genetic Resources and Services (NCCGRS) works to enhance access to quality information, the sharing of quality and vetted resources, peer-to-peer partnership, and organizational development resources in order to achieve parity in access and to increase the quality of care. http://geneticalliance.org/

The Does It Run In the Family? toolkit was designed to be complementary to many existing tools, including FHH collection tools such as the U.S. Surgeon General’s My Family Health Portrait (MFHP http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/). While MFHP allows users to enter their own health histories as well as the health histories of family members, the Does It Run In the Family? toolkit provides the “how” and “why” behind collecting and entering that information. Anyone who uses MFHP should jointly use Does It Run In the Family? to understand the importance of the collection and learn tips for talking to family members about health. http://www.familyhealthhistory.org/

For Primary Care Providers

go to exit disclaimer

Supported by a HRSA cooperative agreement, GPCI provides genetics information and tools to help primary care providers incorporate genetics into daily practice, as well as resources for patients.

A clinician with a mother and infant patient