Feasibility of an environmental scan-based approach to collecting information about factors impacting cancer genetics services in Latin American countries.
Erica M Bednar, Roni Nitecki Wilke, Kirsten Jorgensen, Michael T Walsh, Stephanie Nutt, Karen H Lu, Leandro Nóbrega, Aline Patricia Soares Dias De Souza, Gabriela da Silva Oliveira, Carlos Eduardo Mattos da Cunha Andrade, Nelson Purizaca-Rosillo, Pamela Mora, Aldo López Blanco, Lenny N Gallardo-Alvarado, David Cantú-de León, J Alejandro Rauh-Hain
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Clinical cancer genetics services are expanding globally, but national policy and health care systems influence availability and implementation. Understanding the environmental factors within a country is required to appropriately implement, adapt, and evaluate cancer genetics service delivery models. An environmental scan (ES) is an approach used in business, public health, health care and other sectors to collect information about an environment or system for strategic decision making and program planning. An ES has been previously used to assess cancer genetics clinic-level factors to inform quality improvement efforts in the United States. We assessed the feasibility of using an ES to collect information about factors that may influence cancer genetics service delivery in the outer-most socio-ecological model environmental levels (policy, national agencies, healthcare systems, cultural considerations) in three Latin American countries.
Methods: Oncology and Genetics care team members at three participating sites used publicly available sources and personal experiences to complete a data collection form (DCF) that included questions about subtopics: laws and policies, relevant agencies and regulations, health care systems and insurance, and cultural considerations. Time to complete the DCF and DCF completeness were used to measure ES feasibility.
Results: Participating sites completed the DCF in 3 months, and most questions (average, 87.0%) were answered. Questions in the cultural considerations subtopic had the fewest answers (average, 77.8%).
Conclusions: Overall, the ES was feasible and identified a lack of published literature related to cultural considerations impacting health care and genetics services uptake in Latin America. Environmental factors impact cancer genetics services, and identification of these factors will facilitate future collaborative research and genetics service delivery dissemination efforts.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Community Genetics is an international forum for research in the ever-expanding field of community genetics, the art and science of applying medical genetics to human communities for the benefit of their individuals.
Community genetics comprises all activities which identify persons at increased genetic risk and has an interest in assessing this risk, in order to enable those at risk to make informed decisions. Community genetics services thus encompass such activities as genetic screening, registration of genetic conditions in the population, routine preconceptional and prenatal genetic consultations, public education on genetic issues, and public debate on related ethical issues.
The Journal of Community Genetics has a multidisciplinary scope. It covers medical genetics, epidemiology, genetics in primary care, public health aspects of genetics, and ethical, legal, social and economic issues. Its intention is to serve as a forum for community genetics worldwide, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.
The journal features original research papers, reviews, short communications, program reports, news, and correspondence. Program reports describe illustrative projects in the field of community genetics, e.g., design and progress of an educational program or the protocol and achievement of a gene bank. Case reports describing individual patients are not accepted.