How practice setting affects family physicians' views on genetic screening: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Public Health
• Family Medicine

Background:

• Genetic screening (GS) identifies at-risk asymptomatic individuals for preventive care.
• Family physicians (FPs) are vital for GS accessibility and addressing specialist shortages.
• GS integration can improve patient outcomes and community health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate FP attitudes, roles, motivators, and barriers regarding GS.
• To compare private and public sector FP perspectives on GS adoption.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews with 30 FPs (15 private, 15 public).
• Purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling strategies were employed.
• Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded for thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• Twelve themes emerged, including training needs, GS relevance, and adoption barriers.
• Common themes: lack of training, perceived relevance, resistance, motivation, patient factors, and solutions.
• Private FPs cited patient rapport, autonomy, and literacy as facilitators; public FPs noted lack of control, lower SES, and administrative barriers.

Conclusions:

• FPs are motivated to adopt GS but need implementation support.
• Policy should consider practice setting when introducing new screening functions.
• Behavioral change strategies must respect FP autonomy and contextual factors.