This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Boulton, M. Articles by Williamson, R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

General practice and new genetics: what do general practitioners know about community carrier screening for cystic fibrosis?

St Mary's Hospital Medical School, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK

Robert Williamson

St Mary's Hospital Medical School, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK

As one of the first genetic conditions for which community carrier screening is possible, cystic fibrosis provides an opportunity to examine the way in which health professionals understand and assess issues associated with the clinical applications of the `new genetics'. This paper presents the results of a postal survey of general practitioners in the UK. Completed questionnaires were returned by 388 GPs (64%). The majority had a limited understanding of the epidemiology and population genetics of CF. Less than half (164, 44%) indicated the correct estimate of carrier frequency and only a third (144, 39%) indicated the correct likelihood of inheriting the carrier state. By contrast, the majority of GPs supported community carrier screening for CF. Almost all (339, 92%) felt the benefits of screening were important, and almost half (172, 45%) wanted to offer carrier screening in their own practices. These findings point to major gaps in GPs' understanding of genetics and raise further questions about the grounds on which their support for screening is based.

Public Understanding of Science, Vol. 4, No. 3, 255-267 (1995)
DOI: 10.1088/0963-6625/4/3/004


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Emslie, K. Hunt, and G. Watt A chip off the old block? Lay understandings of inheritance among men and women in mid-life Public Understanding of Science, January 1, 2003; 12(1): 47 - 65. [Abstract] [PDF]