Genetics education program to help public health nurses improve their knowledge and enhance communities’ genetic literacy: a pilot study

Abstract

Background As human genetics knowledge develops, public genetic literacy needs to be increased, though the educational capacity for this purpose has not yet been fully developed. Under this circumstance, the daily work of public health nurses can be viewed as an opportunity to enhance public genetic literacy. However, in Japan, there is not only a lack of public knowledge of human genomics but also a lack of public health nurses’ recognition about genomic literacy. A short-term education program was implemented as a pilot study. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the program to support public health nurses’ activity aimed at promoting health services-related genetic literacy. Methods The genetics education program was implemented in December 2019, in Kagoshima, Japan. Twenty-three public health nurses cooperated with the research. The program was composed of a case study on consultation, a lecture on hereditary diseases, and a discussion on the role of public health nurses. Familial hypercholesterolemia was used as the topic of the case study. We evaluated scores for cognition, affect, and psychomotor characteristics related to their learning goals before and after the program using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Answers in the consultation were qualitatively analyzed. Results The mean cognitive score, capturing provision of explanations of hereditary disease, was 6.3 before the program but increased significantly to 9.3 after the program (p < 0.001). For the affective score, the goal of which was deepening interest in human genetics, the mean score increased significantly from 8.5 before to 11.0 after (p < 0.001). For the psychomotor score, addressing the need for genetic consultation, the mean score increased significantly from 4.4 before to 8.1 after (p < 0.001). Prominent themes extracted from descriptions on the worksheet post training included, “providing advice and accurate information on genetic disorders” and “referral to a specialized organization.” Conclusions Our findings indicated that this education program helps public health nurses be positively involved in human genetic disorders. Thus, they may connect to their local community to provide accurate genetics knowledge and advice for health management and promoting genetic literacy.

The good, the bad, and the utilitarian: attitudes towards genetic testing and implications for disability

“…Our assumption was confirmed, in line with previous similar findings (e.g., Henneman et al, 2004). This specific result joins the line of research that entitles the need for genetic literacy (Goda et al, 2019;Kawasaki et al, 2021). As Kawasaki et al (2021) suggested, "under conditions of low genetic literacy, the development of genetic tests and access to genetic information can lead to increased discrimination and prejudice among the public" (p. 31).…”

“…This specific result joins the line of research that entitles the need for genetic literacy (Goda et al, 2019 ; Kawasaki et al, 2021 ). As Kawasaki et al ( 2021 ) suggested, “under conditions of low genetic literacy, the development of genetic tests and access to genetic information can lead to increased discrimination and prejudice among the public” (p. 31). Thus, we believe that accurate information related to genetic testing would address potentially biased beliefs through targeted educational programs.…”

Experience and Perceptions of a Family Health History Risk Assessment Tool among Multi-Ethnic Asian Breast Cancer Patients

“…This was consistent with prior literature demonstrating that follow-up procedures for high-risk patients remain suboptimal [47]. It will, therefore, be imperative to address these process gaps (e.g., nurse-led education to enhance genetic literacy and importance of surveillance), before attempting the widespread implementation of risk assessments [48,49].…”

Applying implementation science to improve care for familial hypercholesterolemia

“…These barriers identified by providers and patients have led researchers to develop educational strategies to improve uptake of genetic testing. The implications of a genetic literacy program to address these barriers found that providers improved their understanding about genetics and ability to provide accurate knowledge and advice while promoting genetic literacy to patients [13]. Similarly, for cascade screening of relatives, an international survey explored perspectives of patients on indirect and direct contact approaches for cascade screening and found that a majority of individuals supported direct outreach by their provider to their relatives to share their FH result [14]; however, this approach is seldom used.…”