Awareness, knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes towards genetic testing for cancer risk among ethnic minority groups: a systematic review

Background Genetic testing for risk of hereditary cancer can help patients to make important decisions about prevention or early detection. US and UK studies show that people from ethnic minority groups are less likely to receive genetic testing. It is important to understand various groups’ awarene...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC public health Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 503 - 30
Main Authors: Hann, Katie E. J., Freeman, Madeleine, Fraser, Lindsay, Waller, Jo, Sanderson, Saskia C., Rahman, Belinda, Side, Lucy, Gessler, Sue, Lanceley, Anne
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London BioMed Central 25.05.2017
Springer Nature B.V
BMC
Subjects:
Asian Americans
Attitudes
Australia
Awareness
Biostatistics
Breast cancer
Cancer
Cancer risk
Environmental Health
Epidemiology
Ethnic minorities
Ethnicity - psychology
Ethnicity - statistics & numerical data
Genetic counseling
Genetic screening
Genetic Testing
Genetics
Health behavior
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice - ethnology
health promotion and society
Health risks
Humans
Knowledge
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority Groups - psychology
Minority Groups - statistics & numerical data
Mortality
Mutation
Neoplasms - ethnology
Prevention
Public Health
Qualitative research
Research Article
Risk
Risk assessment
Studies
United States
Vaccine
Australia
United States
United Kingdom > UK
United States > US
Europe
Attitudes
Ethnic minorities
Genetic testing
Knowledge
Awareness
Cancer risk
ISSN:1471-2458, 1471-2458
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Genetic testing for risk of hereditary cancer can help patients to make important decisions about prevention or early detection. US and UK studies show that people from ethnic minority groups are less likely to receive genetic testing. It is important to understand various groups’ awareness of genetic testing and its acceptability to avoid further disparities in health care. This review aims to identify and detail awareness, knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes towards genetic counselling/testing for cancer risk prediction in ethnic minority groups. Methods A search was carried out in PsycInfo, CINAHL, Embase and MEDLINE. Search terms referred to ethnicity, genetic testing/counselling, cancer, awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions. Quantitative and qualitative studies, written in English, and published between 2000 and 2015, were included. Results Forty-one studies were selected for review: 39 from the US, and two from Australia. Results revealed low awareness and knowledge of genetic counselling/testing for cancer susceptibility amongst ethnic minority groups including African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics. Attitudes towards genetic testing were generally positive; perceived benefits included positive implications for personal health and being able to inform family. However, negative attitudes were also evident, particularly the anticipated emotional impact of test results, and concerns about confidentiality, stigma, and discrimination. Chinese Australian groups were less studied, but of interest was a finding from qualitative research indicating that different views of who close family members are could impact on reported family history of cancer, which could in turn impact a risk assessment. Conclusion Interventions are needed to increase awareness and knowledge of genetic testing for cancer risk and to reduce the perceived stigma and taboo surrounding the topic of cancer in ethnic minority groups. More detailed research is needed in countries other than the US and across a broader spectrum of ethnic minority groups to develop effective culturally sensitive approaches for cancer prevention.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
content type line 14
ObjectType-Feature-3
ObjectType-Evidence Based Healthcare-1
ObjectType-Article-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
ObjectType-Review-3
content type line 23
ObjectType-Undefined-4
ISSN:1471-2458
1471-2458
DOI:10.1186/s12889-017-4375-8