title: Genetics/genomics education for nongenetic health professionals: a systematic literature review.
abstract: The completion of the Human Genome Project has enhanced avenues for disease prevention, diagnosis, and management. Owing to the shortage of genetic professionals, genetics/genomics training has been provided to nongenetic health professionals for years to establish their genomic competencies. We conducted a systematic literature review to summarize and evaluate the existing genetics/genomics education programs for nongenetic health professionals.
  
  
  
  Five electronic databases were searched from January 1990 to June 2016.
  
  
  
  Forty-four studies met our inclusion criteria. There was a growing publication trend. Program participants were mainly physicians and nurses. The curricula, which were most commonly provided face to face, included basic genetics; applied genetics/genomics; ethical, legal, and social implications of genetics/genomics; and/or genomic competencies/recommendations in particular professional fields. Only one-third of the curricula were theory-based. The majority of studies adopted a pre-/post-test design and lacked follow-up data collection. Nearly all studies reported participants' improvements in one or more of the following areas: knowledge, attitudes, skills, intention, self-efficacy, comfort level, and practice. However, most studies did not report participants' age, ethnicity, years of clinical practice, data validity, and data reliability.
  
  
  
  Many genetics/genomics education programs for nongenetic health professionals exist. Nevertheless, enhancement in methodological quality is needed to strengthen education initiatives.Genet Med advance online publication 20 October 2016.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Divya
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7995-8139
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Talwar
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral &Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Tung-Sung
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6266-9891
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Medical Science Library, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4453-7788
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education and Promotion, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Lei-Shih
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5320-6350
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003479:Curriculum; D003625:Data Collection; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005823:Genetics / Q000193:education*; D023281:Genomics / Q000193:education*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D016045:Human Genome Project; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D015203:Reproducibility of Results