TY - JOUR
T1 - Participation in breast cancer genetic counseling
T2 - The influence of educational level, ethnic background, and risk perception
AU - Culver, Julie
AU - Burke, Wylie
AU - Yasui, Yutaka
AU - Durfy, Sharon
AU - Press, Nancy
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by NIH grant number R01 HG01085. We also thank our project manager, Susan Reynolds, and research assistant, Jennifer Anderson, for their assistance with conducting this study.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Genetic counseling has been suggested as a means of providing information and support to women with a family history of breast cancer. Yet women who undergo cancer genetic counseling in the United States generally consist of only a subset of those at risk, namely well-educated, upper-middle class, European American and Jewish women. We report outcomes from a study that provided a unique opportunity to determine whether women of African American, European American, Native American, or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry have varying interest in having cancer genetic counseling. The study offered a genetic counseling session to 97 women with a family history of breast cancer who were participating in a larger interview study designed to assess attitudes toward genetic testing for breast cancer. The study offered genetic counseling free of charge to all study participants with a family history of breast cancer, removing the potential barriers of cost, the need for a physician referral, and lack of awareness of genetic counseling. Fifty women out of the 97 women offered genetic counseling (52%) accepted the offer by completing a session. Those who accepted genetic counseling had a higher educational level, a higher perceived risk of breast cancer, and were more likely to expect a positive BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic test if they were to undergo genetic testing. When controlling for education level, there was no correlation between the participants' ethnic background and acceptance of a genetic counseling session. Outreach efforts to minority populations may increase awareness of the availability of genetic counseling and may facilitate participation by such populations.
AB - Genetic counseling has been suggested as a means of providing information and support to women with a family history of breast cancer. Yet women who undergo cancer genetic counseling in the United States generally consist of only a subset of those at risk, namely well-educated, upper-middle class, European American and Jewish women. We report outcomes from a study that provided a unique opportunity to determine whether women of African American, European American, Native American, or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry have varying interest in having cancer genetic counseling. The study offered a genetic counseling session to 97 women with a family history of breast cancer who were participating in a larger interview study designed to assess attitudes toward genetic testing for breast cancer. The study offered genetic counseling free of charge to all study participants with a family history of breast cancer, removing the potential barriers of cost, the need for a physician referral, and lack of awareness of genetic counseling. Fifty women out of the 97 women offered genetic counseling (52%) accepted the offer by completing a session. Those who accepted genetic counseling had a higher educational level, a higher perceived risk of breast cancer, and were more likely to expect a positive BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic test if they were to undergo genetic testing. When controlling for education level, there was no correlation between the participants' ethnic background and acceptance of a genetic counseling session. Outreach efforts to minority populations may increase awareness of the availability of genetic counseling and may facilitate participation by such populations.
KW - BRCA1
KW - BRCA2
KW - Ethnic minorities
KW - Family history
KW - Genetic testing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=1542274418&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=1542274418&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:1542274418
SN - 1059-7700
VL - 10
SP - 215
EP - 231
JO - Journal of Genetic Counseling
JF - Journal of Genetic Counseling
IS - 3
ER -