Family Health History: The Story That Protects Your Future

Host: Mindy McCulley, MS Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Specialist for Instructional Support, University of Kentucky  Guest: Monica Mundy, PhD Assistant Extension Professor for Family and Community Health Season 8 | Episode 44 In this episode of Talking FACS, host Mindy McCulley visits with Dr. Monica Mundy, Assistant Extension Professor for Community and Family Health. They discuss the importance of knowing and sharing your family health history. They explore how family stories can reveal risks for conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and mental health challenges and how that information can inform screenings and prevention. The episode covers practical advice on when and how to start the conversation with relatives—family gatherings, life milestones, or before a doctor’s visit—plus sample lines to open the discussion, tips for taking notes (with permission), and recognizing lifestyle and environmental factors such as smoking that affect risk across generations. Listeners will come away with simple, respectful strategies to gather health history, understand its role in prevention and screening, and use that knowledge to protect their families’ future health. Connect with FCS Extension through any of the links below for more information about any of the topics discussed on Talking FACS. Kentucky Extension Offices UK FCS Extension           Website           Facebook           Instagram           FCS Learning Channel