Surgical Oncologists and Nurses in Breast Cancer Care are Ready to Provide Pre-Test Genetic Counseling
Bokkers, K.; Bleiker, E. M.A.; Aalfs, C. M.; van Dalen, T.; Velthuizen, M. E.; Duijveman, P.; Sijmons, R. H.; Koole, W.; Schoenmaeckers, E. J.P.; Ausems, M. G.E.M.
(2023) Annals of Surgical Oncology, volume 30, issue 6, pp. 3248 - 3258
(Article)
Abstract
Background: Pre-test genetic counseling for patients with breast cancer is increasingly being provided by nongenetic healthcare professionals. We evaluated the attitudes, knowledge, and self-efficacy of surgeons, oncologists, and nurses regarding mainstream genetic testing and the feasibility to incorporate pre-test genetic counseling into routine care. Methods: We offered an online training
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to healthcare professionals from 13 hospitals and implemented a mainstream genetic testing pathway in 11/13 (85%) hospitals. Questionnaires were sent before (T0) and 6 months after (T1) completing the training. Those who did not complete the training received a questionnaire to assess their motivations. Results: In 11 hospitals, 80 (65%) healthcare professionals completed the training, of whom 70 (88%) completed both questionnaires. The attitudes, (perceived) knowledge and self-efficacy of healthcare professionals were high both at baseline and 6 months after completing the training. After 6 months, their perceived knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of a genetic test and implications for family members had significantly improved (p = 0.012 and p = 0.021, respectively). For the majority (89%), the time investment for pre-test genetic counseling was less than 15 min per patient and as expected or better. Healthcare professionals considered the total time investment feasible to incorporate mainstream genetic testing into their daily practice. The main barrier to complete the training was lack of time. The online training was considered useful, with a rating of 8/10. Conclusion: Surgical oncologists and nurses in breast cancer care feel well-equipped and motivated to provide pre-test genetic counseling after completion of an online training module.
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Keywords: Oncology, Surgery, Journal Article
ISSN: 1068-9265
Publisher: Springer New York
Note: Funding Information: We thank all healthcare professionals and patient advocates for their contribution to the development of our mainstream genetic testing pathway and training module, including Sanne Stehouwer, Els van Riel, Bernou Huizenga, Sissi Grosfeld, Tineke Kempees, Desirée van den Bongard, Desirée Hairwassers, Nathalie Wittebolle, and Rhodé Bijlsma, as well as volunteers from the Dutch Breast Cancer Society (BVN) and Oncogen. We also thank all participating surgical oncologists, nurse specialists, nurses, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists from the University Medical Center Utrecht, Diakonessenhuis Utrecht, Meander Medical Center Amersfoort, St. Antonius Hospital Nieuwegein/Utrecht, Alexander Monro Hospital Bilthoven, Riverienland Hospital Tiel, St. Jansdal Hospital Harderwijk, Gelre Hospitals Apeldoorn, Beatrix Hospital Gorinchem, Wilhelmina Hospital Assen, Medical Center Leeuwarden, Martini Hospital Groningen, and Isala Clinics Zwolle. We thank Richard Brohet for his advisory role with respect to the statistical analyses. Funding Information: AstraZeneca (grant number: AZNL201900216) and Pfizer (grant number: 54265341) partly funded the appointment of K.B. and thereby facilitated the implementation of the mainstream genetic testing pathway. They had no involvement in the study design, collection of data, analyses, or writing the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).
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