Genetic and genomic nursing competency among nurses in tertiary general hospitals and cancer hospitals in mainland China: a nationwide survey

Abstract

ObjectivesTo explore genetic/genomic nursing competency and associated factors among nurses from tertiary general and specialist cancer hospitals in mainland China and compare the competencies of nurses from the two types of hospitals.Design and settingA cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 2019 to January 2020, wherein 2118 nurses were recruited from 8 tertiary general hospitals and 4 cancer hospitals in mainland China. We distributed electronic questionnaires to collect data on nurses’ demographics, work-related variables and genomic nursing competency.Participants2118 nurses were recruited via a three-stage stratified cluster sampling method.ResultsMore than half (59.1%, 1252/2118) of the participants reported that their curriculum included genetics/genomics content. The mean nurses’ genomic knowledge score was 8.30/12 (95% CI=8.21 to 8.39). Only 5.4% had always collected a complete family history in the past 3 months. Compared with general hospital nurses, slightly more cancer hospital nurses (75.6% vs 70.6%, p=0.010) recognised the importance of genomics, while there was no significant difference in the knowledge scores (8.38 vs 8.21, p>0.05). Gender (β=0.06, p=0.005), years of clinical nursing (β=−0.07, p=0.002), initial level of nursing education (β=0.10, p<0.001), membership of the Chinese Nursing Association (β=0.06, p=0.004), whether their curriculum included genetics/genomics content (β=0.08, p=0.001) and attitude towards becoming more educated in genetics/genomics (β=0.25, p<0.001) were significantly associated with the nurses’ genomic knowledge score.ConclusionThe levels of genomic knowledge among mainland Chinese nurses in tertiary hospitals were moderate. The overall genomic competency of cancer hospital nurses was comparable to that of general hospital nurses. Further genomic training is needed for nurses in China to increase their genomic competency and accelerate the integration of genomics into nursing practice.

Genetics and genomics knowledge and competency of Chinese nurses based on the theory of diffusion of innovation: A descriptive cross-sectional study

“…Unlike other studies, less than half of the nurses in the current research (46.3%) intended to attend classes on their own time. This result is similar to the study results of ZHAO et al [ 11 ]. In their research, 47.4% of Chinese nurses said they would participate in the course study in their own time.…”

“…In this study, the nurses' knowledge level measured by the GGNPS questionnaire was found to be moderate (7.35/12), which was slightly lower than the knowledge score of American nurses measured by the GGNPS questionnaire (8.99/12) [ 14 ]; and Ilknur Yesilçinar et al’s knowledge score (9 out/12) genomics knowledge of Turkish nurses using the GGNPS questionnaire [ 4 ]. It was also lower than Zhao et al evaluation of the level of genetics and genome knowledge of nurses in five provinces in China (8.30/12) [ 11 ]. In research conducted by Efrat Dagan et al, The GGNPS questionnaire was not used as a measurement tool but reported a lower level of genomics knowledge among Israeli nurses [ 15 ].…”

“…To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies assessing the knowledge and competency of Chinese nurses' genetics and genomics. ZHAO et al surveyed 2118 nurses in 12 tertiary hospitals in five provinces in China through Layered entire group sampling and learned about the level of nurses in many regions in China [ 11 ]. Considering the differences in the medical level of each province in China, understanding the nursing level of specific provinces also plays a vital role in the progress of the nurses’ genome understanding in the region.…”

“…However, few studies have evaluated the knowledge and competency of Chinese nurses' genetics and genomics. A national survey on the genomics ability of nurses of general tertiary hospitals and cancer hospitals in mainland China found that nurses' genomics knowledge level is medium and needs further genome training [ 11 ]. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand Chinese nurses' competencies and roles to guarantee the adequacy of genomics medical services provided by China.…”

The effects of decision aids for genetic counselling among people considering genetic testing: A systematic review

“…This could make nurses less skilled in promoting the utilisation of genetic tests among their clients during genetic counselling. Furthermore, previous studies showed that most nurses (>70%) rarely or never had facilitated the referrals of clients to genetic services (Yeşilçinar et al, 2022; Zhao et al, 2022), suggesting that nurses may also have limited opportunities in promoting genetic test utilisation during their practice. Given the role of decision aids in clarifying the values of healthcare users, enabling them to make healthcare decisions that are consistent with these values and be more aware of the benefits and risks of these decisions, it is likely that decision aids may facilitate nurse‐led genetic counselling, enabling genetic counsellees to make their informed decisions more easily despite the limited training of nurses in genetics/genomics and genetic testing.…”