Swiss primary care physicians' knowledge, attitudes and perception towards genetic testing for XXXX .

@entity5 @entity0 @entity4310
PURPOSE: The Swiss Institute for Applied @entity5 Research's (SIAK) Network for @entity5 Predisposition Testing and Counseling was established in 1999. To define its role in the care of individuals with @entity4310 predisposition, attitudes, knowledge and perception of primary care physicians towards genetic counseling and testing for @entity0 were examined. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 1391 primary care physicians in private practice in the German-speaking Canton of Z  rich. RESULTS: 628 (45%) questionnaires were returned: 319/778 (41%) general practitioners, 156/367 (43%) internists, 118/218 (54%) obstetrician-gynecologists and 22/28 (76%) oncologists answered. Socio-demographic characteristics were: 74% males and 26% females with a mean age of 51 and a mean number of 14 years in private practice. Fifty-two percent of responding physicians approved of genetic susceptibility testing and seventy-seven percent would recommend it to individuals at risk if asked for it. Of the responding physicians, 47% wanted to disclose test results and discuss its consequences and 79% wanted to provide long term care and support, whereas only 36% and 9%, respectively, assigned these tasks to specialized @entity5 genetics services. Eight knowledge questions had to be answered: 290 (46%) gave 0-2 correct answers, 284 (45%) gave 3-5 and 54 (9%) gave 6-8 correct answers. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that the majority of responding primary care physicians in the Canton of Z  rich approve of genetic testing for @entity0 and want to play a central role in the management of these families, but lack the knowledge to do so efficiently. Our findings underline the importance of educational programs in @entity5 genetics.
