Attitudes Toward Genetic Testing in Patients At Risk for HNPCC/FAP and the German Population

Abstract

Adequate knowledge regarding hereditary diseases and genetics, as well as personal attitudes toward gene tests, are major determinants of optimal utilization of genetic testing. In the present study, we aimed to explore the general attitudes toward genetic testing in a sample representative of the German general population (n = 2,076) and to compare the attitudes of persons at risk for hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer/familial adenomatous polyposis (HNPCC/FAP) (n = 36) who had attended a university genetic counseling service, with a matched general population sample. We administered a subset of a questionnaire previously used in a Finnish study (Jallinoja et al., 1998). The 12 statements pertain to approval, disapproval, and concern for genetic testing. Overall, the results reveal high approval of genetic testing in the German population and in at-risk persons. In accordance with other studies, we find that the attitudes of individuals for whom hereditary disease is a salient issue of personal relevance and the attitudes of the general public are very similar. Only a few significant differences between these two samples emerged, indicating that at-risk persons hold a more favourable view of the testing. One intriguing finding was the high rate of "don't know" responses, especially in the general population sample. Compared to results from Finland, approval of genetic testing is lower in the German population, and endorsement of "don't knows" is remarkably higher. We argue for increased attention to the issue of attitude change after genetic counseling and for the need of comparative cross-cultural research on attitudes toward gene technology.

Assessing Patient Readiness for the Clinical Adoption of Personalized Medicine

“…The result is in line with the findings of previous studies on genetic testing (albeit not specifically related to pharmacogenomics), indicating acceptance of genetic testing, particularly among patients who are ill or at-risk persons [13,14,15]. …”

Stakeholder Analysis in Pharmacogenomics and Genomic Medicine in Greece

“…Such studies would facilitate adopting certain policies and performing the necessary steps that would expedite integration of genomics into healthcare. These studies, conducted in various countries in Europe and the US [3,4,5,6,7], have shown that the level of the general public's awareness of genomic medicine and its impact on society is often rather low, which constitutes a major barrier to expediting the implementation of genomic medicine. In addition, the lack of proper mapping of the opinions of various stakeholders leads to an inadequately regulated environment in the field.…”

Ein klares Jein!

“…Barth et al [3,4] erfragten unter anderem die Einstellungen von Frauen aus der deutschen Allgemeinbevölkerung zu prädiktiver Gendiagnostik für somatische Erkrankungen im Erwachsenenalter: 47% der Frauen stimmten der Anwendung solcher Testungen zu, 40% lehnten diese ab. In Studien zur genetischen Diagnostik an repräsenta-tiven Stichproben in Finnland [2] und Deutschland [5] wurde insgesamt eher eine befürworten-de Haltung der Allgemeinbevölkerung zur genetischen Diagnostik gefunden. Die Befürwor-tung war in Deutschland geringer ausgeprägt als in Finnland.…”

“…Zwischen der Zentralität der Religiosität und der Befürwor-tung der Forschung mit Embryonen zeigt sich ebenfalls ein negativer Zusammenhang. Dies deckt sich mit Befunden aus der Allgemeinbevölkerung zum Einfluss der Religiosität auf Einstellungen gegenüber der Forschung mit Embryonen [28] und in Bezug auf andere ethisch umstrittene Themen, wie Abtreibung [0] oder Gentests [5].…”