<p>Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes Concerning Genetic Testing Among Young Jordanians</p>

Abstract

BackgroundMedical genetic testing is an evolving side of clinical care that helps people to make informed medical and lifestyle decisions. The source of knowledge, personal beliefs, and attitude towards genetic testing are the main determinative factors of getting optimal utilization of such technology in reducing/prevention of diseases.MethodsA structured survey was used to assess the knowledge, beliefs, and attitude regarding genetic testing among 463 young adults aged 18 years or older living in the North of Jordan.ResultsMore than three-quarters (77.1%) of the respondents were familiar with the term genetic testing. The most common sources of knowledge were: education they received (44.8%), the internet (37.5%), and social media (17.2%). Most (93.9%) of the respondents believed that genetic testing is a useful tool to diagnose and prevent genetic diseases. Almost three-quarters (72.7%) of the respondents believed that the health care system provides advice or genetic counseling to those with a genetic disease. A total of 9.6% of the respondents thought that genetic testing might cause a physical risk to their lives. In addition, 11.3% of the respondents believed that genetic testing is forbidden and not permissible and about 6.3% did not agree in performing genetic testing in the future. Finally, about half (53.4%) of the respondents consider genetic testing affordable and the remainder consider it costly.ConclusionOur findings emphasize the importance of acquiring knowledge about genetic testing among young individuals, Issues related to knowledge were identified and should be further improved, such as cost prediction, safety, and the legitimacy of genetic testing to get better outcomes in the Jordanian community.

Knowledge, Awareness, and Perception of Genetic Testing for Hereditary Disorders Among Malaysians in Klang Valley

“…This finding can be attributed to the increased reporting of genetic testing in recent years in Malaysia (Yoon et al, 2011;Balasopoulou et al, 2017), which resulted in greater public familiarity of the topic of genetic testing for hereditary disorders. Similar results were observed in some countries in the Middle East, where majority of respondents in Jordan had heard of genetic testing (Mohammad Bagher et al, 2019), while most northern Iranians were interested in using genetic counseling services and genetic tests before marriage (Altaany et al, 2019).…”

“…As reported in a previous study in New York city, ethnic and racial identities are associated with the perception of the benefits of and barriers to the application of genetic testing (Sussner et al, 2011 ). In addition, a study conducted in Jordan also revealed that 12% of the respondents believed that genetic tests were forbidden (Altaany et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Previous studies reported a deficiency of knowledge of genetic testing among the public, including populations in developed and developing nations (Vermeulen et al, 2014;Agurs-Collins et al, 2015;Hann et al, 2017;Eum et al, 2018;Altaany et al, 2019). Meanwhile, similar studies targeting prenatal or neonatal genetic testing revealed that health education, facilities, and infrastructures should be further improved to enhance the adaptation of non-invasive genetic testing among the public (Kusyk et al, 2013;Abdo et al, 2018).…”

Genetic Literacy Levels and Genetic Screening Attitudes on Medical Students in Indonesia: A National Survey

“…This experience can positively affect a person's attitude toward genetic screening, primarily if the family refers to the doctor and gets examinations to perform diagnosis. Literature mentions that having a family member with inherited diseases will make another family more aware of screening approaches 26 Other people's experiences and opinions can be another factor that can influence the use of one's genetic screening, according to one component in the Theory of Planned Behavior 27 . Other people's opinions, especially doctors and other health workers, can help a non-expert understand complex genetic information and become an ideal source for making decisions about genetic screening 28 .…”

The Perception of Premarital Genetic Screening within Young Jordanian Individuals

“…In this case, it is critical to assess the impact of PGS on society as the occurrence of diseases that are tested by PGS results in the need for long-term treatments and care, increases the use of health professionals, and gets access to medical equipment and medications. The genetic disease is regarded as a high burden on society, including the psychological benefit of PGS for at-risk individuals for a particular disease which they know from their own family is the reduction of anxiety [30, 31].…”