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Medical Practitioners' use of genetic counselling services in Cape Town

The genetic counselling profession has grown exponentially in the last decade. Major advances in genetic technologies contributed to the increased need for these professionals. In South Africa, medical practitioners in private practice are increasingly making use of the services of genetic counsello...

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Main Author: Pretorius, Willem
Other Authors: Wessels, Tinamarie
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences 2024
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access_status_str Open Access
author Pretorius, Willem
author2 Wessels, Tinamarie
author_browse Pretorius, Willem
Wessels, Tinamarie
author_facet Wessels, Tinamarie
Pretorius, Willem
author_sort Pretorius, Willem
collection Thesis
description The genetic counselling profession has grown exponentially in the last decade. Major advances in genetic technologies contributed to the increased need for these professionals. In South Africa, medical practitioners in private practice are increasingly making use of the services of genetic counsellors in the routine clinical management of their patients. In this research study medical practitioners in private practice in Cape Town, who actively utilise genetic counselling services, were recruited to investigate why they make use of genetic counselling services. A total of twelve medical practitioners were recruited for online semi-structured interviews in Afrikaans or English. The interviews were transcribed, and data was analysed using thematic analysis. From the interviews three broad themes were identified namely: the identity of genetics and genetic counselling services, resource limitations, and the appreciable impact of genetic counselling. Some interesting points of discussion included practitioners' views on direct-to-consumer testing platforms and the ambiguity around the professional title of a genetic counsellor. This research study is, according to our knowledge, one of the first global attempts to interview medical practitioners specifically who actively make use of genetic counselling services. It provides insights that could be used to promote the service throughout South Africa and other countries across the world. Future research that includes the perspectives of medical practitioners throughout South Africa would allow for even greater perspective on utilising genetic counselling services.
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:52:49.831Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
publishDateSort 2024
publisher Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
publisherStr Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39832 Medical Practitioners' use of genetic counselling services in Cape Town Pretorius, Willem Wessels, Tinamarie Genetic Counselling The genetic counselling profession has grown exponentially in the last decade. Major advances in genetic technologies contributed to the increased need for these professionals. In South Africa, medical practitioners in private practice are increasingly making use of the services of genetic counsellors in the routine clinical management of their patients. In this research study medical practitioners in private practice in Cape Town, who actively utilise genetic counselling services, were recruited to investigate why they make use of genetic counselling services. A total of twelve medical practitioners were recruited for online semi-structured interviews in Afrikaans or English. The interviews were transcribed, and data was analysed using thematic analysis. From the interviews three broad themes were identified namely: the identity of genetics and genetic counselling services, resource limitations, and the appreciable impact of genetic counselling. Some interesting points of discussion included practitioners' views on direct-to-consumer testing platforms and the ambiguity around the professional title of a genetic counsellor. This research study is, according to our knowledge, one of the first global attempts to interview medical practitioners specifically who actively make use of genetic counselling services. It provides insights that could be used to promote the service throughout South Africa and other countries across the world. Future research that includes the perspectives of medical practitioners throughout South Africa would allow for even greater perspective on utilising genetic counselling services. 2024-06-03T07:55:01Z 2024-06-03T07:55:01Z 2023 2024-06-03T06:51:32Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39832 eng application/pdf Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences
spellingShingle Genetic Counselling
Pretorius, Willem
Medical Practitioners' use of genetic counselling services in Cape Town
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Medical Practitioners' use of genetic counselling services in Cape Town
title_full Medical Practitioners' use of genetic counselling services in Cape Town
title_fullStr Medical Practitioners' use of genetic counselling services in Cape Town
title_full_unstemmed Medical Practitioners' use of genetic counselling services in Cape Town
title_short Medical Practitioners' use of genetic counselling services in Cape Town
title_sort medical practitioners use of genetic counselling services in cape town
topic Genetic Counselling
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39832
work_keys_str_mv AT pretoriuswillem medicalpractitionersuseofgeneticcounsellingservicesincapetown