Interactive e-counselling for genetics pre-test decisions: where are we now?

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Health Informatics
• Medical Education

Background:

• In-person genetic counselling (GC) is the standard for genetic testing information.
• Increasing demand for genetic testing strains healthcare resources and GC availability.
• Current GC models may not always be convenient or optimal for patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review evidence on interactive e-learning and e-tools for pre-test genetic counselling.
• To assess the efficacy and acceptance of digital tools in GC.
• To explore alternatives to traditional in-person genetic counselling.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 21 papers from 15 studies published between 1994 and March 2014.
• Included studies focused on interactive e-learning tools, with or without decision aids.
• Evaluated tools used as adjuncts to conventional GC.

Main Results:

• E-learning tools, with or without decision aids, were generally well-accepted by users.
• Patients using e-tools demonstrated improved knowledge acquisition and decisional comfort.
• Most studies utilized e-tools to supplement, rather than replace, conventional GC.

Conclusions:

• E-learning tools show potential for enhancing genetic counselling delivery.
• Further research is needed to define optimal use cases for e-tools in GC.
• Digital tools may offer solutions to challenges of constrained healthcare budgets and limited GC availability.