"That Was Grown Folks' Business": Narrative Reflection and Response in Older Adults' Family Health History Communication

Given the importance of family health history and the pivotal role of older adults in communicating it, this study examines how African American older adults (a) characterize their understandings of health-related conditions in their family histories and (b) rationalize their motivations and constraints for sharing this information with current family members. Using narrative theory as a framework, we illustrate how the participants reflect on prior health-related experiences within the family to respond to moral and practical calls for communicating family health information to current relatives. Specifically, our analysis highlights how storied family secrets--as constructed by 28 participants in group and individual interviews--reveal and inform shifting cultural and generational practices that shape the lived health behaviors and communication of older adults at greater risk for health disparities.