APRNs' Knowledge and Attitudes About Pharmacogenetic Testing

Introduction: Of the many influences that advances in genomics and technology are destined to have on clinical practice, one of the most profound and earliest to be realized will be the use of genetic information to guide a patient's drug therapy. Yet, in spite of the potential benefits of pharmacogenetic testing (PGx), little is known regarding what Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) know and think about this emerging technology. The purpose of this project was to examine knowledge and attitudes about PGx among APRNs.

Method: 560 APRNs completed an online survey concerning their knowledge and attitudes about PGx. The survey was developed based on existing literature concerning knowledge and attitudes about PGx and it was evaluated by an interdisciplinary group of nurses, physicians, and pharmacists with expertise in PGx prior to the beginning of data collection.  An invitation to participate in this study and links to the online survey were distributed through listserves for two organizations (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties and Oncology Nursing Society).

Results: Most of the participants rated their understanding of PGx as fair (44%) or poor (33%). In terms of attitudes about PGx, the majority of the participants (65%) thought it was likely that PGx would help decrease the number of adverse drug reactions and 18% thought PGx would help decrease the cost of new drugs. However, 47% expressed concern that PGx may result in discrimination by employers and insurance companies and 41% expressed concern that unauthorized individuals may gain access to PGx information.  Of the 420 participants with prescriptive privileges, 55% were likely to look for PGx information about a drug prior to ordering the drug for their patients and 27% indicated that if they were given the results of their patient's PGx to guide Warfarin therapy they would be comfortable interpreting and using that information on their own.  Ninety-six percent of the participants were interested in learning more about PGx.

Discussion/Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that the APRN's surveyed need, and are interested in receiving, additional education about PGx. Moreover, concerns about ethical implications may prevent APRN's from ordering PGx.