Systematic development of a training program for healthcare professionals to improve communication about breast cancer genetic counseling with low health literate patients.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	van der Giessen, Jeanine A. M. Ausems, Margreet G. E. M. van den Muijsenbergh, Maria E. T. C. van Dulmen, Sandra Fransen, Mirjam P.
Abstract	There is a disproportionate underuse of genetic testing in breast cancer patients from lower education or migrant background. Within these groups, communication about referral to genetic counseling appears challenging due to limited health literacy and cultural barriers. Our aim was to develop and evaluate a training program for healthcare professionals (breast surgeons and specialized nurses), to increase effective communication. We systematically developed a blended training program based on patients’ and healthcare professionals’ needs and preferences. Prior to the training, we assessed awareness, knowledge and self-efficacy of healthcare professionals. Acceptability and usefulness of the training program were assessed directly after the training. Healthcare professionals (n = 65) from 17 hospitals showed moderate to high awareness and knowledge about the prevalence and impact of limited health literacy. They were aware of cultural factors that influence communication. However, they did not feel confident in recognizing limited health literacy and their self-efficacy to communicate effectively with these patients was low. The training program was rated as acceptable and useful. Healthcare professionals lack confidence to effectively communicate with patients with limited health literacy or migrant background. The training program offers opportunities to improve communication about referral to breast cancer genetic counseling.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10689-020-00176-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC7497313&blobtype=pdf
ISSN	13899600
Journal	Familial Cancer [Fam Cancer]
Volume Number	19
DOI	10.1007/s10689-020-00176-3
PubMed Central reference number	PMC7497313
Issue Number	4
PubMed reference number	32323055
e-ISSN	15737292
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2020-10-01
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. © The Author(s) 2020
Subject Keyword	Blended training program Breast cancer genetic counseling Communication skills Disparities Health literacy Migrant status Referral
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Genetics Cancer Research Genetics (clinical) Oncology