title: Patient satisfaction with cancer genetic counseling: a psychometric analysis of the Genetic Counseling Satisfaction Scale.
abstract: Satisfaction is an important patient reported outcome of genetic counseling, as it is one of the elements used by professional organizations and healthcare accrediting bodies to determine the quality of professional work. However, empirical research on patient satisfaction with genetic counseling has been limited, partly due to the lack of standardized measures available to assess this construct. The purpose of this study was to conduct a psychometric analysis of a new satisfaction measure, the Genetic Counseling Satisfaction Scale (GCSS), within a sample of women participating in a no-cost cancer genetic counseling and testing program. The sample consisted of 61 women undergoing counseling and testing for hereditary breast-ovarian cancer risk (BRCA1/2 testing) who completed the GCSS following pretest counseling. The results suggest that the GCSS was reliable (Cronbach's coefficient alpha = 0.90) and that participants were highly satisfied with the care they received. In addition, there were no differences in satisfaction between cancer genetic counseling and prenatal counseling participants (based on preexisting norms), and satisfaction did not vary by sociodemographic characteristics. Implications and recommendations are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Control Program, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 317, Washington, District of Columbia 20007-4104, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffani A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: DeMarco
authors.forename: Beth N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Peshkin
authors.forename: Bryn D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Mars
authors.forename: Kenneth P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Tercyak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D019398:Genes, BRCA1; D024522:Genes, BRCA2; D005817:Genetic Counseling / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health