Knowledge and attitudes toward expanded carrier screening between the medical staff and general population in China

Jing Yang; Min Chen; Heli Wu; Wei Shen; Jianmei Han; Yuxia Fu; Jimei Sun; Wenyan Wu

doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2021.06.022

Knowledge and attitudes toward expanded carrier screening between the medical staff and general population in China

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2021 Aug:263:198-204. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2021.06.022. Epub 2021 Jun 20.

Authors

Jing Yang¹, Min Chen², Heli Wu¹, Wei Shen¹, Jianmei Han³, Yuxia Fu⁴, Jimei Sun⁵, Wenyan Wu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics, Zhejiang Xiaoshan Hospital, Hangzhou 311200, China.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Fetal Medicine and Prenatal Diagnosis, Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 63 Duobao Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou 510150, China. Electronic address: edchen99@gmail.com.
³ Department of Women's Health Care, Zhejiang Xiaoshan Hospital, Hangzhou 311200, China.
⁴ Reproductive Medicine Center, the First People's Hospital of Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang 844000, China.
⁵ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Fetal Medicine and Prenatal Diagnosis, Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 63 Duobao Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou 510150, China.
⁶ BGI Guangzhou Medical Institute Company Limited, Guangzhou 510006, China.

PMID: 34229183
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2021.06.022

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of our study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward expanded carrier screening (ECS) between the medical staff and general population in China.

Study design: It was a survey-based cross-sectional study in Chinese. We provided an online survey for the general public nationwide. We classified the population into the medical staff and general population to evaluate the knowledge gap and provide a reference for ECS's education programs. Except for obstetrician-gynecologists and nurses in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, other medical staff were not included in our study. A total of 1947 questionnaires were collected from July 11, 2020 to February 10, 2021. Two hundred and eighty-four questionnaires were excluded from further analysis. The remaining 1663 cases were incorporated into the final analysis. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. Comparisons between categorical variables were tested by the use of crosstabs and χ2 test.

Results: The total awareness rates of the knowledge about monogenic diseases and ECS in the respondents were low, with 35.7%, 26.1%, 3.3%, 23.3%, 24.1%, 55.2%, and 23.4% for questions Q1-Q7, respectively. Medical staff had more knowledge than general population. Knowledge about monogenic diseases and ECS was positively correlated with educational level. Most respondents showed a positive attitude toward ECS: 54.4% thought ECS was necessary, and 80.5% wanted to know more about monogenic diseases.

Conclusion: Although the public had little knowledge about monogenic disease and ECS, most of them showed a positive attitude. Our cross-analysis showed that medical staff had more knowledge compared to general population. Pre-test education for ECS can be carried out by medical staff who are not qualified for genetic counseling. ECS training for medical staff, especially obstetrician-gynecologist and nurse in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, can reduce the workload of genetic counseling.

Keywords: Attitude; Expanded carrier screening (ECS); Knowledge; Monogenic disease; Survey.

MeSH terms

Attitude of Health Personnel
China
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Genetic Carrier Screening
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Humans
Medical Staff*
Pregnancy
Surveys and Questionnaires