Zhou Yi Zhou, Wilde Alex, Meiser Bettina, Mitchell Philip B, Barlow-Stewart Kristine, Schofield Peter R
aSchool of Medicine bSchool of Psychiatry cPrince of Wales Clinical School dSchool of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales eBlack Dog Institute fBrain Sciences UNSW, Sydney gCentre for Genetics Education, Royal North Shore Hospital hSydney Medical School, University of Sydney iNeuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Psychiatr Genet. 2014 Jun;24(3):94-101. doi: 10.1097/YPG.0000000000000030.
The aim of this study was to examine the self-rated competencies and perceived roles of medical geneticists, genetic counselors, and psychiatrists in the communication of genetic risk for psychiatric disorders to patients and families at an increased risk for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder, and their perspectives on training needs in this field.
Clinically active members of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia (HGSA) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) were invited to complete the online survey. A total of 157 responses were included in data analysis: 17 medical geneticists, 36 genetics counselors, and 104 psychiatrists.
In all, 34.4% of the respondents disagreed that their professional training had prepared them to discuss genetic information about psychiatric illnesses with patients. Medical geneticists perceived significantly higher levels of self-rated competency to discuss with patients and families genetic information on psychiatric disorders compared with genetic counselors and psychiatrists (t=-0.61, P=0.001; β=0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.16-0.49, P<0.001).
Findings suggest deficiencies in education and training programs on how to best communicate psychiatric genetic risk information to patients, suggesting that specialist programs are needed to better support health professionals. As self-rated competencies differed among the professional groups, training programs need to be tailored to participants' professional backgrounds.
本研究旨在调查医学遗传学家、遗传咨询师和精神科医生在向精神分裂症、双相情感障碍或重度抑郁症风险增加的患者及其家属传达精神疾病遗传风险方面的自我评估能力和感知角色，以及他们对该领域培训需求的看法。
邀请澳大利亚人类遗传学协会（HGSA）和澳大利亚及新西兰皇家精神科医学院（RANZCP）的临床活跃成员完成在线调查。数据分析共纳入157份回复：17名医学遗传学家、36名遗传咨询师和104名精神科医生。
总体而言，34.4%的受访者不同意他们的专业培训使他们有能力与患者讨论精神疾病的遗传信息。与遗传咨询师和精神科医生相比，医学遗传学家认为自己在与患者及其家属讨论精神疾病遗传信息方面的自我评估能力水平显著更高（t=-0.61，P=0.001；β=0.33，95%置信区间0.16-0.49，P<0.001）。
研究结果表明，在如何最好地向患者传达精神疾病遗传风险信息方面，教育和培训项目存在不足，这表明需要专业项目来更好地支持卫生专业人员。由于不同专业群体的自我评估能力存在差异，培训项目需要根据参与者的专业背景进行定制。
