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A Cross Sectional Study Exploring Factors Impacting Recruitment of African American College Students into the Genetic Counseling Profession
Author(s) -
Wolfe Schneider Kami,
Collins Roger,
Huether Carl,
Steinberg Warren Nancy
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of genetic counseling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1573-3599
pISSN - 1059-7700
DOI - 10.1007/s10897-009-9242-z
Subject(s) - genetic counseling , demographics , population , medicine , family medicine , african american , career counseling , public health , psychology , gerontology , clinical psychology , medical education , nursing , demography , environmental health , genetics , sociology , ethnology , biology
African Americans account for about 12.7% of the United States population, but only 1% of the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ membership identifies as African American. Since individuals often seek health care from providers sharing similar backgrounds, training genetic counselors from diverse backgrounds is critical. Psychology and biology students ( N = 552) at four universities completed a self‐administered online survey assessing the influence of genetic counseling awareness, demographics, and career decisions on students’ interest in pursuing genetic counseling as a career. More African Americans (83%) than Caucasians (62%) reported having chosen a career ( p ≤ .001). Of the 65% of students who indicated interest in the career description of genetic counseling, fewer African Americans (50%) than Caucasians (74%) had heard of genetic counseling ( p ≤ .001). Specific strategies to overcome recruiting barriers such as early career selection and lack of awareness of the genetic counseling career among African Americans are suggested.