Nurses' Professed Knowledge of Genetics and Genetic Counseling

Abstract

All over the world, the increased awareness of the importance of early diagnosis of genetic diseases has given them priority in primary health care. However, more recent surveys indicate that genetics content is still lacking in nursing curricula. This survey aimed to measure the current status of primary care nurses' knowledge about genetics and genetic counseling, and the educational needs of nurses related to human genetics in the Denizli region of Turkey. This area in western Turkey has an 11.7% rate of consanguineous marriages; about 3.5% of the population are hemoglobinopathies carrier and 3.2% are thalassemia carriers. Data were collected on forms that aimed to obtain information about nurses' approaches to genetics and genetic counseling. A total of 86 of 106 nurses working in Denizli province returned the questionnaire (response rate of 81.1%). Phenylketonuria, at 61.5%, and Cooley's anemia, at 60.0%, were identified as the subjects these nurses were most knowledgeable about in terms of genetic disorders. A high percentage of nurses admitted they had insufficient knowledge about the genetic basis of diseases (96.4%), inheritance patterns (98.9%), ethical and legal issues (100.0%), genetic counseling (100.0%), gene testing (95.9%), and genetic engineering (97.9%). About 67% of nurses stated they would like to attend a training course on these subjects. As a result of this study a genetics course is planned for nurses so they can actively participate in the prevention and early diagnosis of genetic diseases.

A systematic review of nurses’ knowledge of genetics

“…Three studies were conducted in the US, one in the UK, one in Turkey and one in Singapore. In two studies the type of nurse was not indicated, in one practice nurses were studied [31] in one only hospital nurses were recruited [32] , while in two studies [33,34] they were specified as nurses undertaking an advanced practice educational programme.…”

“…A year later, Tomatir et al [32] conducted a survey to describe nurses' current approaches to and knowledge about human genetics and genetic education in Denizli, Turkey. The participants were 86 nurses who worked full time in one of the 26 health clinics in one province (81.1% response rate).…”

Genetic Advances in Oncology and the Effects on Nursing Roles

“…[1][2][3] Bu gelişmeler, bir yandan tüm dünyada birey, aile ve toplumlar için yeni sağlık hizmetleri fırsatı sunarken, diğer yandan hemşire ve sağlık personeline yeni roller yüklemiştir. [4,5] Genetik alanındaki gelişmelere paralel olarak değişen ve gelişen sağlık bakım hizmetleri tüm disiplinlerde olduğu gibi hemşirelik disiplini içerisinde de heyecan verici yeni bir boyut olarak yerini almaya başlamıştır. [6] Onkoloji, gastroentereloji, pediatri, prenatal taramalar ve yenidoğan taramaları ile ilgili genetik gelişmeler ilgili alanlarda hizmet sunan hemşirelerin klinik uygulamalarını etkilemektedir.…”

“…Hemşireler bu konuya yönelik gelişmeleri takip edebilmek ve klinik uygulamalara aktarabilmek için sürekli eğitime gereksinim duymaktadır. [4,7] Mezuniyet sonrası eğitim ve hizmet içi eğitimler ile bu alandaki bilgi eksikliği giderilmeye çalışılmalıdır. Bu derlemede genetik bilim dalındaki gelişmelerin onkoloji hemşirelerinin rol ve sorumluluklarına etkisi tartışılmıştır.…”

Understanding undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge of, and attitudes to, prenatal genetic screening in Malaysia: A preliminary study

“…There have been calls for the acquisition of a greater fundamental understanding of genetic and genomic information among health professionals and graduate nursing students [10,11]. Despite recognition of the need for education in genetics [15], surveys have indicated that genetic content is still lacking in nursing schools' curricula [6]. This is of concern because nurses, in the frontline of patient care, are in a unique position to provide a supportive role in educating patients about, and motivating them to undergo prenatal genetic screening in primary health care settings.…”