Education and electronic medical records and genomics network, challenges, and lessons learned from a large-scale clinical trial using polygenic risk scores.

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) have potential to improve health care by identifying individuals that have elevated risk for common complex conditions. Use of PRS in clinical practice, however, requires careful assessment of the needs and capabilities of patients, providers, and health care systems. The electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) network is conducting a collaborative study which will return PRS to 25,000 pediatric and adult participants.

A Framework for Pilot Testing Health Risk Video Narratives.

Narrative messages may be superior to didactic messages when providing educational information due to their natural format for information sharing, ability to engage audiences, and engender positive thoughts about the message. Although narrative messages are gaining popularity in health promotion, little guidance exists regarding the development phase. Our team created a psychosocial narrative video intervention grounded in the Health Belief Model to increase breast cancer survivors' attendance at genetic counseling after treatment.

An iPhone Application Intervention to Promote Surveillance Among Women with a BRCA Mutation: Pre-intervention Data.

Women with BRCA mutations, at significantly increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer, do not consistently adhere to management guidelines due to lack of awareness and challenges tracking appointments. We developed an iPhone application (app) to help BRCA carriers manage their surveillance. We explored baseline awareness and adherence to surveillance guidelines and analytic data from 21 months of app use.

A Two-Phase Approach to Developing SNAP: an iPhone Application to Support Appointment Scheduling and Management for Women with a BRCA Mutation.

Professional organizations provide surveillance guidelines for BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA) carriers with intact breasts and/or ovaries to facilitate early cancer detection. However, literature indicates adherence to surveillance guidelines is inconsistent at best. Using the Messaging Model for Health Communication Campaigns framework, we undertook a two-phase formative research approach to develop an intervention to promote adherence to surveillance guidelines.

Tracking the dissemination of a culturally targeted brochure to promote awareness of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer among Black women.

Objective: Black women have a higher rate of BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA) mutations, compared with other populations, that increases their risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). However, Black women are less likely to know about HBOC and genetic testing. Based on a request from a community advisory panel of breast cancer survivors, community leaders and healthcare providers in the Black community, our team developed a culturally targeted educational brochure to promote awareness of HBOC among Black women.

From research to self-reflection: learning about ourselves as academics through a support group's resistance to our intervention.

Purdue University's Center for Healthcare Engineering developed a computer-assisted technology hub (CATHUB) designed to aid individuals with disabilities. Upon realizing the lack of input from the very individuals they were trying to help, Marifran approached the developers of CATHUB and offered to engage a group of amputees to aid in the design and implementation of the hub. In this essay, Courtney and Marifran recount, each from their own perspective, their experiences working with Amputees in Action as participants in their research project.