Assessment of genetic familiarity and genetic knowledge among Palestinian university students

Abstract

Background and aims Genetic knowledge and familiarity among the population represent the lane toward effective participation in social decisions regarding genetic issues. This cross sectional research aimed to assess genetic knowledge and familiarity among university students in Palestine. Methods The familiarity with genetics was evaluated using the Genetic Literacy and Comprehension instrument (GLAC), and genetic knowledge was measured using a 16-item scale of prevalent genetic concepts. Results Among the 624 participants, 59.5% were females. 38.8% reported family history of genetic diseases. The genetic familiarity mean score was 4.83 and the genetic knowledge mean total score was 11.5. Students’ genetic familiarity was high for the terms chromosome and genetic while it was low for the terms sporadic and vulnerability. Genetic knowledge was highest for gene definition while it was the lowest regarding the number of human genes. The age group, year of study, and learning genetic courses were the significant predictors of familiarity among medical students. The year of study, family history of genetic diseases, parental consanguinity, and learning genetic courses were the significant variables associated with genetic knowledge among medical students. Regarding the non-medical group of participants, all study variables were significant for both familiarity and knowledge scores except for age group with familiarity. Conclusion Genetic familiarity and knowledge among Palestinian university students are inadequate. Consanguinity and hereditary disorders are prevalent in Palestine. These findings encourage university stakeholders to take action to improve genetic knowledge and familiarity among students through both appropriate pedagogical and non-pedagogical interventions.