Genetics/genomics education for health professionals: A systematic literature review

Background: The completion of the Human Genome Project has opened many avenues for better prevention, diagnosis, and management of diseases. As health professionals do not keep up with the advancement in genomics, various organizations and researchers have advocated the needs of genomic education for this group. We conducted a systematic review to provide an overview of genetics/genomic education programs for health professionals. Methods: We searched five electronic databases for relevant articles between 1990 and Jan 2013. Thirty-four studies met our inclusion criteria (e.g., delivering genetics/genomics education programs to health professionals and presenting the evaluation findings). Results: There was a growing publication trend: 1990-1994 (n=0), 1995-1999 (n=3), 2000-2004 (n=5), 2005-2009 (n=13), 2010-Jan 2013 (n=13). The majority of studies were conducted in the United States. Participants included genetic professionals and non-genetics doctors, residents, and allied health professionals. The curricula varied, ranging from basic genetic concepts, applied genetics/genomics, ethical, legal, and social implication of genetics/genomics, to genomic competencies/recommendations in particular professional fields. Yet, only five curricula were theory-based. Regarding evaluation designs, most adopted a pre/post design and an inferential statistics without controlling for the covariates (e.g., paired-t test and chi-square). Less than one-fourth of studies reported data validity and reliability. Outcomes of the programs were measured in terms of participants' changes in the following areas: knowledge, attitudes, intention, behavior/practice, self-efficacy, and comfort level. Conclusions: Although there was a rise in publications in genomic education for health professionals, improvements in the methodological quality of studies are needed to strengthen this body of literature.