Guilbert P, Cheater F
Trent Sub-Regional Genetic Service, City Hospital, Nottingham.
J Med Genet. 1990 Aug;27(8):508-11. doi: 10.1136/jmg.27.8.508.
A questionnaire was sent to 84 health visitors to assess their awareness and perception of genetic services and how they perceived their role in the referral of patients. The study showed that while health visitors had a reasonable knowledge of the more obvious aspects of genetic services, there were a number of areas in which they were unsure. The respondents did not identify themselves as prime initiators in the process of referring patients to a genetic service, although they appeared able to identify families on their caseloads for whom this service may be relevant. Health visitors viewed their own knowledge of genetics as poor, a factor which may account for the low referral rate initiated by this group of professionals. The respondents attached importance to genetic issues and 76 (95%) wished to be better informed about the subject. It is suggested that the inclusion of genetics as part of an in-service training programme might fulfil this need and lead to greater advocacy of genetic services among the families in their care. These findings are of interest in view of the proposals within the recent Royal College of Physicians report (Prenatal screening and genetic counselling) suggesting that community genetic services should make use of primary health care workers such as health visitors.
一份调查问卷被发送给84名健康访视员，以评估他们对基因服务的认识和看法，以及他们如何看待自己在患者转诊中的作用。研究表明，虽然健康访视员对基因服务较为明显的方面有一定了解，但在一些领域他们并不确定。受访者并不认为自己是将患者转诊至基因服务过程中的主要发起者，尽管他们似乎能够识别出其工作对象中可能需要这项服务的家庭。健康访视员认为自己的遗传学知识较差，这可能是导致该专业群体转诊率较低的一个因素。受访者重视基因问题，76人（95%）希望能更好地了解这一主题。建议将遗传学纳入在职培训计划的一部分，这可能满足这一需求，并促使他们在其照护的家庭中更多地宣传基因服务。鉴于皇家内科医师学院最近的报告（《产前筛查与遗传咨询》）中的提议，即社区基因服务应利用健康访视员等初级卫生保健工作者，这些研究结果具有重要意义。
