Genomic literacy in nursing: a systematic scoping review of the literature

To map the available evidence on genomic literacy among clinical nurses, nursing students and nursing faculty.

Systematic scoping review.

A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier and OpenGrey. The review included studies published in English from 1 January 2001 to 28 May 2025.

Studies that referenced 'genomic literacy' in health-related or educational contexts and focused on nurses, nursing students or nursing faculty were included. Articles had to provide data on study design, population, setting, data collection tools and outcomes related to genomic literacy.

Two independent reviewers extracted and summarised data on study characteristics, including publication year, country, setting, aims, methods, population, assessment tools, outcomes and educational interventions. Findings were synthesised descriptively.

Of 1534 studies identified, 63 met the inclusion criteria. Most were observational (69.8%) and conducted in the USA (41.3%), focusing on clinical nurses (50.8%) in educational (47.6%) or clinical (46.0%) settings. Genomic literacy was predominantly assessed using ad hoc tools (46.0%) or the Genomic Nursing Concept Inventory, revealing low literacy levels. Mean scores ranged from 5.66 to 16.21 out of 31 (18.3%-52.3% correct answers). Educational interventions demonstrated effectiveness in improving genomic knowledge.

Genomic literacy among nurses, students and faculty remains low, with notable heterogeneity across countries. Many studies used non-standardised assessment tools with uncertain reliability and genomic literacy among nursing faculty remains underexplored. Educational interventions show promise in enhancing genomic literacy.