Family physicians’ self-perceived importance of providing genetic test information to patients: A cross-sectional study from Slovenia

BACKGROUND: Management of patients with genetic problems, including provision of genetic testing, is increasingly becoming a part of primary health care. The aim of this study was to determine the family physicians’ (FPs) self-perceived importance of providing genetic test information to their patients. MATERIAL/METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional postal study in the whole population of Slovenian family physicians (N=950). Its main outcome measure was the perceived importance of providing genetic test information on each of 10 items on a 5-point Likert scale. RESULTS: There were 271 (27.1% response rate) FPs that completed the questionnaire, out of which 205 (75.6%) were women. Mean age of the sample was 45.5±10.6 years. More than 90% of Slovene FPs felt that it was their professional duty to discuss genetic testing issues with their patients. They were particularly prone to discuss clinical implications of positive and negative test results, as well as giving the patients information about the risk of passing a mutation onto children. CONCLUSIONS: Most Slovene family physicians feel responsible and willing to offer and discuss genetic testing and implications with their patients. Additional education should be provided to empower them for this task.