Premarital Genetic Counselling among Female Adolescents Students

Abstract

Premarital genetic screening is one of the most important strategies for prevention of genetic disorders and congenital anomalies among adolescents. Genetic counseling has become a prominent feature in prevention and treatment of genetic diseases. Nurse play an integral role in providing genetic services that include assess genetic risk, provide information, discuss available testing options and provide appropriate supportive counseling. Aim: To evaluate the effect of premarital genetic counseling on the knowledge and attitudes among female adolescents' students as a quasi-experimental study design. Setting: Technical nursing students at Ain shams university Purposive sample of 100 unmarried female adolescents’ students will recruited from grades I of Technical nursing students at Ain shams university.Four types of tools will be used for data collection which are structured interviewing questionnaire, likert scale for students’ attitude towards premarital genetic screening, Counseling sessions and opinionnaire sheet. Results revealed that the majority of students had lack of knowledge and negative attitudes regarding premarital genetic counseling. Significant improvement was found regarding most items of knowledge and attitudes after implementation of counseling sessions. Conclusion: Significant improvement in students' knowledge and attitudes after implementation of counseling sessions. Recommendation: Involvement of community leaders and non-governmental organizations in counseling programs to youth toward premarital genetic counseling and marriage between genetically incompatible partners