Premium
Use of Genetic Tests among Neurologists and Psychiatrists: Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviors, and Needs for Training
Author(s) -
Salm Melissa,
Abbate Kristopher,
Appelbaum Paul,
Ottman Ruth,
Chung Wendy,
Marder Karen,
Leu ChengShiun,
Alcalay Roy,
Goldman Jill,
Curtis Alexander Malik,
Leech Christopher,
Taber Katherine Johansen,
Klitzman Robert
Publication year - 2014
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/s10897-013-9624-0
Subject(s) - public health , genetic counseling , training (meteorology) , genetic testing , psychology , medicine , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medical education , family medicine , nursing , genetics , biology , physics , meteorology
This study explores neurologists’ and psychiatrists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning genetic tests. Psychiatrists ( n = 5,316) and neurologists ( n = 2,167) on the American Medical Association master list who had agreed to receive surveys were sent an email link to a survey about their attitudes and practices regarding genetic testing; 372 psychiatrists and 163 neurologists responded. A higher proportion of neurologists (74 %) than psychiatrists (14 %) who responded to the survey had ordered genetic testing in the past 6 months. Overall, most respondents thought that genetic tests should be performed more frequently, but almost half believed genetic tests could harm patients psychologically and considered legal protections inadequate. Almost half of neurologists (49 %) and over 75 % of psychiatrists did not have a genetics professional to whom to refer patients; those who had ordered genetic tests were more likely than those who did not do so to have access to a genetic counselor. Of respondents, 10 % had received patient requests not to document genetic information and 15 % had received inquiries about direct‐to‐consumer genetic testing. Neurologists reported themselves to be relatively more experienced and knowledgeable about genetics than psychiatrists. These data, the first to examine several important issues concerning knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of neurologists and psychiatrists regarding genetic tests, have important implications for future practice, research, and education.