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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Lei-Shih Chen, MS, PT, CHES and Patricia Goodson, PhD. Department of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, 4243 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4243, 979-862-8574, lace@hlkn.tamu.edu

In 2002, the CDC recommended health educators incorporate seven genomic competencies to improve public health. Recently, the journal Health Education and Behavior dedicated an entire issue to discussing the role of, and research/practice opportunities for, health educators in the field of public health genomics. Despite such emphases, most health educators have never received formal training in public health genomics. This qualitative study examined current health educators' perceptions of the barriers to adopting genomic competencies into public health practice. Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 health educators, sampled from university, hospital, and community settings. Interview transcripts were subjected to a thematic analysis. The barriers to implementing public health genomics, identified most frequently by this sample, included the inconsistency between genomic information and participants' religious beliefs (identified by 8 participants), lack of knowledge regarding genomics (n=8), and lack of time and need to seek further training (n=5). Perceptions of the difficulty in disseminating genomic information to lay communities -- especially for low SES communities and ethnic groups who typically mistrust health care systems -- was another perceived barrier. Hospital and school health educators expressed concern and fear of personal psychological distress if required to deal with informing and explaining clients' genomic profile. Future public health genomics training should focus on health educators' needs, in order to reduce perceptions of barriers to incorporating genomic competencies into public health practice. Such training should emphasize genomic knowledge, professional roles in genomic education, communication skills, and stress management.

Learning Objectives:

• By the end of the presentation, the participant will be able to
• • Identify health educators’ perceptions of barriers to adopting genomic competencies into public health practice.
• • Articulate future public health genomics training emphases.

Keywords: Genetics, Health Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation