Family physicians' perspectives on genetics and the human genome project

The objective of the study was to determine family physicians' attitudes an d beliefs about human genetics research and the human genome project (HGP). The design of the study involved qualitative, semi-structured interviews. Primary variables of interest included family physicians' training; their a ttitudes about the HGP; requests for genetics counseling; and their approac hes to counseling requests. The setting was a medium-sized, Midwest, US cit y. The participants were 16 university-affiliated, community-based family p hysicians. For contents analysis, we used a coding scheme to identify illus trative themes and subthemes. While most of the family physicians reported familiarity with genetics and the HGP, and experiences with counseling requ ests, nearly all (15) reported little training in genetics counseling. Four major themes were identified: 1) impact on clinical care; 2) educational i ssues relevant to genetics and the HCP; 3) ethical concerns; and 4) family medicine responsibilities. These family physicians do not perceive genetics as having a substantial impact on their practice, but do expect major clin ical changes in the future. Many feel there have been inadequate educationa l opportunities to learn about genetics, and some indicate reluctance to in vest in self-education until genetic problems become more clinically releva nt. These practitioners envision a role for family medicine the specialty t o shape priorities in genetics research.