No abstract

With further advances in medical genetics, genetic tests to determine predisposition to disease are becoming viable for a growing number of diseases. Accordingly, it has also become important to identify various viewpoints on genetic testing. The aims of this study were to examine awareness of and attitudes toward genetic testing among the general public (public), cancer patients (patients), and health-care professionals (clinicians and researchers) in Korea. The present survey was conducted from November 2016 to February 2017. The public and patients were surveyed via face-to-face interviews conducted by trained interviewers. Health-care professionals were surveyed via self-administered questionnaires. In total, 1500 individuals from the general public, 1500 cancer patients, 113 clinicians, and 413 researchers were surveyed. Most respondents from the public and patients had previously heard about genetic testing (public, 89.4%; patients, 92.7%, p < 0.01). Differences in attitudes toward genetic testing among the public, patients, and professionals were noted, although most respondents in the present study were aware of genetic testing. Most of the cancer patients tended to overestimate the potential benefit of genetic testing, whereas clinicians expressed concerns for genetic testing. Providing correct information to people who are scheduled to undergo or order genetic testing could help in making an informed decision thereon.

Background Despite the great benefits of mobile health applications (mHAs) in managing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) internationally, studies have documented general challenges to broad adoption of mHAs among older age groups. By focusing on broad adoption, these studies have been limited in their evaluation of adults aged 50 and older who have high risk of NCDs and can benefit the most from the functionalities provided by mHAs. Objective This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, self-confidence, perceived benefits, and barriers of using mHAs depending on experience with mHAs among adults aged 50 and older. Furthermore, we aim to identify the factors associated with the actual use of mHAs. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey at a single tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea, between May 1 and May 31, 2018. Of the 625 participants who were contacted, 323 participants were granted full inclusion to the study. We compared demographics, knowledge, self-confidence, and perceived benefits and barriers by experience with using mHAs, then performed logistic regression to identify the factors associated with mHA use. Results Among the participants, 64.1% (N = 207) had experience using mHAs. Those in the experienced group were more likely to have more than college education (55.1% vs. 27.5%, P < 0.001) and to report a higher monthly income (≥ $7,000, 22.7% vs. 18.1%, P = 0.05) than their less-experienced counterparts. Although the experienced group was more likely to have higher self-confidence in using mHAs, about half of the study participants, including people with experience using mHAs, did not have appropriate knowledge of mobile technology. With adjusted logistic model, higher educated (adjusted PR (aPR) = 1.53, 95% CI, 1.26–1.80), higher perceived benefits of mHAs (aPR = 1.43, 95% CI, 1.04–1.83), and higher self-confidence using mHAs (aPR = 1.41, 95% CI, 1.12–1.70) were significant factors associated with mHA use. Conclusions The use of mHAs among adults aged 50 and older is becoming more common globally; nevertheless, there are still people unable to use mHAs properly because of lack of experience and knowledge. Strategies are needed to encourage the reliable usage of mHAs among those who may need it the most by improving self-confidence and better articulating benefits.