Attitudes toward prenatal diagnosis and termination of pregnancy for genetic disorders among healthcare workers in a selected setting in Sri Lanka.

OBJECTIVES

Assess attitudes toward prenatal diagnosis (PND) and termination of pregnancy (TOP) for Down syndrome (DS), hemophilia, lethal autosomal recessive disorder (LRD) and a hypothetical late-onset neurodegenerative disorder (NDD) among healthcare workers in one Sri Lankan district.

METHODS

Self-administered questionnaire (tested for content validity) completed by medical (n = 218) and nursing (n = 368) students, nurses (n = 178) and doctors (n = 127).

RESULTS

Acceptability of PND was 94%, 91%, 86% and 71% respectively for LRD, DS, hemophilia and NDD. Favorable attitudes toward TOP for DS (84%), and LRD (82%) were higher compared with hemophilia (65%) and NDD (53%). There was willingness to consider TOP for self/spouse for DS (79%), LRD (78%), hemophilia (60%) and NDD (54%). The proportions willing to participate in a pregnancy termination (DS 54%, LRD 51%, hemophilia 38%, NDD 38%) were lower. Religious affiliation influenced attitudes regarding TOP with Christians being more opposed than Buddhists.

CONCLUSIONS

There is acceptance of and willingness to participate in TOP for fetal anomalies among Sri Lankan healthcare workers. These findings have relevance for developing prenatal diagnostic services in Sri Lanka. Religious affiliation among Asian doctors, nurses (and patients) in developed countries is likely to determine permissiveness toward PND and TOP.