Group project due 1/21/18 6pm. HELP

APA format.

Results or Findings

Report the qualitative findings.
Address any descriptive statistics, if discussed in the article.
Was the clinical significance discussed (offer details)? What does this research mean for clinical practice?
Were there any untoward events during the study? [For example, did people leave the study and, if so, was there something special about them?]
How do the results fit with previous research in the area?

Discussion and Recommendations

Elaborate on the authors’ discussion of the research findings (where the authors make sense of the findings).
Did the authors make any recommendations for further research?

CLINICAL SCHOLARSHIP

Parents’ Perspectives on Supporting Their Decision Making
in Genome-Wide Sequencing
Karen C. Li, MSN, RN1, Patricia H. Birch, MSc, RN2, Bernard M. Garrett, PhD, RN3, Maura MacPhee, PhD, RN4,
Shelin Adam, MSc5, & Jan M. Friedman, PhD, MD6

1 Graduate Student Researcher, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
2 Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
3 Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
4 Xi Eta, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
5 Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
6 Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Key words
Decision making, decision support, exome

sequencing, genetic counseling, genome

sequencing, genome-wide sequencing, nursing,

parent perspective

Correspondence
Karen C. Li, Box 153, Children’s and Women’s

Hospital, 4500 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC V6H

3V4, Canada. E-mail: Karen.Li@alumni.ubc.ca

Accepted: February 27, 2016

doi: 10.1111/jnu.12207

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ perceptions of
their decisional needs when considering genome-wide sequencing (GWS) for
their child. This is a partial report and focuses on how parents prefer to receive
education and information to support their decision making about GWS.
Design: This study adopted an interpretive description qualitative method-
ological approach and used the concept of shared decision making and the
Ottawa Decision Support Framework.
Methods: Participants were parents who had already consented to GWS, and
had children with undiagnosed conditions that were suspected to be genetic in
origin. Fifteen parents participated in a focus group or individual interview.
Transcriptions were analyzed concurrently with data collection, iteratively,
and constantly compared to one another. Repeat interviews were conducted
with five of the parents to confirm, challenge, or expand on the developing
concepts.
Findings: Participants felt that their decision to proceed with GWS for their
child was an easy one. However, they expressed some unresolved decisional
needs, including a lack of knowledge about certain topics that became rele-
vant and important to them later and a need for more support and resources.
Participants also had ongoing informational and psychosocial needs after the
single clinical encounter where their decision making occurred.
Conclusions: Participants expressed unmet decisional needs, which may have
influenced the quality of their decisions. The strategies that participants sug-
gested may help create parent-tailored education, counseling, decision sup-
port, and informed consent processes.
Clinical Relevance: Health care professionals who offer GWS for children
should assess parents’ values, priorities, and informational needs and tailor in-
formation accordingly. There are opportunities for nurses to become involved
in supporting families who are considering GWS for their child.

Many genetic conditions present in childhood (Biesecker
& Green, 2014) as undiagnosed conditions that require
a “diagnostic odyssey” to define the cause (Friedman
et al., 2006). However, the technological advances of

genome-wide (whole genome or exome) sequencing
(GWS) enable geneticists to test the entire genome
at once. This may greatly reduce both time and ex-
pense (Ayuso, Millan, Mancheno, & Dal-Re, 2013), and

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provide a specific genetic diagnosis in at least 25% of
cases (Yang et al., 2013), resulting in immediate bene-
fits, such as more accurate genetic counseling, access to
resources, and possible treatment.

Background

While GWS can provide diagnoses, this testing often
reveals incidental findings (IFs): unanticipated results un-
related to the primary concern (Ormond et al., 2010).
IFs may predispose a patient to conditions ranging from
trivial to potentially severe in the present or sometime
in the future. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) therefore
have the challenging task of communicating accurate and
sufficient information about the benefits and potential
adverse implications of GWS to facilitate families’ test-
ing decisions. Genetic counselors (GCs) have expressed
challenges with the length, complexity, and content of
the GWS consent process (Machini, Douglas, Braxton,
Tsipis, & Kramer, 2014). Specifically, GCs had difficulty
ensuring their patients accurately understood the ben-
efits, limitations, potential results, and implications of
GWS for themselves and their family members (Machini
et al., 2014). GCs expressed interest in having access to
resources related to guidelines on consent, result com-
munication, ethical, and counseling issues (Machini et al.,
2014). These challenges align with the recommendation
of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG),
which states that HCPs who provide pediatric genetic
testing need to have appropriate expertise and training
in interpreting and communicating genetic information
(Botkin et al., 2015). Furthermore, genetic HCPs should
establish a long-term communication plan for all results,
including, which individuals are involved in the commu-
nication and the staging of information (Botkin et al.,
2015). HCPS should provide basic genetic counseling and
must have appropriate knowledge and skills related to
testing, interpreting and communicating GWS and its’ re-
sults to patients and families (Botkin et al., 2015).

In Canada, GWS has been carried out in the research
setting for several years, and clinical GWS is becom-
ing available. There are Canadian (Boycott et al., 2015),
American (Green et al., 2013) and European (van El
et al., 2013) professional recommendations for the use
of clinical GWS. Canadian recommendations state that
prior to testing, patients and families should undergo ge-
netic counseling with a qualified person with a compre-
hensive understanding of clinical GWS (Boycott et al.,
2015). The recommendations also state the inclusion of
specific content to discuss during consent (Boycott et al.,
2015). Given that GWS will ultimately impact patients,
parents, and individuals, input is needed from them. In
Europe and North America, parents have voiced con-

cerns about GWS decision making, including the lengthy
and often elaborate consent process (Rigter et al., 2013;
Tabor et al., 2012), and the challenges of discussing
complex concepts such as IFs (Levenseller et al., 2013).
Research on parental perspectives has focused mainly
on return of IFs or results (Daack-Hirsch et al., 2013;
Kleiderman et al., 2013; Sapp et al., 2013; Townsend
et al., 2012); however, exploration of what elements and
supports parents perceive as important to their educa-
tional preparation, pretest discussion, counseling, and in-
formed consent is sparse: we have little understanding
of parents’ perceptions of their decisional needs when
making a choice about GWS for their child. Decisional
needs are factors influencing decision making, including
knowledge, expectations, values, support, resources, and
individual characteristics (O’Connor, 2006). Decisional
needs should be met or resolved to optimize the quality
of the person’s decisions (O’Connor, Stacey & Jacobsen,
2011).

The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ per-
spectives of their decisional needs when contemplating
GWS for their child. More specifically, this article exam-
ines and describes how parents prefer to receive educa-
tion and information about GWS. Understanding their
viewpoints will enable HCPs to improve the education,
counseling, and informed consent for parents consider-
ing such testing for their child.

Genomics and Nursing

It is imperative for nurses to be involved and knowl-
edgeable about new clinical methods such as genomic
testing (Calzone et al., 2013). Nurses have a legal and
professional duty of care to their patients (Young, 2009),
which includes the professional responsibility to serve as
patient advocates (Hamilton, 2009), to promote informed
decision making, and to ensure fairness by raising ethical,
legal, and social concerns (Badzek, Henaghan, Turner, &
Monsen, 2013) relating to GWS. A primary goal of nurs-
ing research is to enhance health care for families. This
study aims to explore the potential for nurses to assist
in this by exploring parental perspectives prior to the
widespread implementation of clinical GWS.

Methods

The qualitative methodological approach known as In-
terpretive Description (Thorne, Kirkham, & Macdonald-
Emes, 1997) was selected to explore this phenomenon.
Shared decision making (Charles, Gafni, & Whelan,
1999) and the Ottawa Decision Support Framework
(O’Connor, 2006; see Appendix S1, available with
the online version of this article) were used as the

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contextual basis for exploring the decision-making pro-
cess in this study. The research proposal was approved by
the University of British Columbia Behavioral Research
Ethics Board. This study took place in British Columbia,
a province in western Canada, where GWS is not yet a
standard of care in clinical practice and is only avail-
able in limited circumstances through special appeal to
British Columbia’s Medical Services Plan. The Canadian
health care system is publicly funded and provides uni-
versal coverage for medically necessary services based
on need.

Recruitment and Sampling

At the inception of the study, there were only a few
children who had undergone GWS in British Columbia;
therefore, participants were recruited at a local children’s
hospital through convenience sampling. English-
speaking parents who had experienced the decision-
making process and had consented to GWS for at least
one child were targeted. Parents had children with a
range of conditions suspected to be genetic in origin.
Twenty-four families were invited via email or telephone
and 15 parents from 15 families consented to participate.
They were instructed to read a short information sheet
(see Appendix S2, available with the online version
of this article) about GWS and watch two video links
(Aulakh, 2010; Sanderson, 2012) intended to help
participants gain a basic understanding of GWS.

Purposeful theoretical sampling was used to obtain
maximum variation on the themes that initially emerged
from the analysis (Thorne et al., 1997). After collect-
ing data from all 15 participants (first round), the pri-
mary investigator purposefully selected those participants
who would provide the most useful information for
repeat interviews (Thorne et al.,1997). Useful informa-
tion was based on participants’ unique contexts, perspec-
tives, or themes that needed clarification (Thorne, Reimer
Kirkham, & O’Flynn-Magee, 2004). Selected participants
had less common circumstances compared to the ma-
jority of other participants, such as a parent who had
adopted their child. This sampling method was used in
the latter part of the data collection stage.

Data Collection and Analysis

As a qualitative study using an Interpretive Descrip-
tion methodology (Thorne et al., 1997), this approach
supports the use and integration of a variety of data
collection techniques to better support a substantial in-
depth analysis of the rich data acquired by these different
methods.

Data were collected through a 90-min focus group
(June 2013), eleven individual semistructured interviews
of 30 to 60 min (May–July 2013), and five repeat in-
terviews, held at a convenient time and location cho-
sen by the participants (October 2013–January 2014).
The focus group was used to capitalize on group engage-
ment and dynamics, leading to a deeper level of discus-
sion or expression of opinion (Polit & Beck, 2012). A
trained facilitator guided the focus group discussion and
the primary investigator was present to address partic-
ipants’ questions. Of the 15 consenting participants, 4
individuals chose to participate in one focus group ses-
sion. Due to participants’ scheduling conflicts or partic-
ipants’ comfort level in a group setting, the remaining
11 participants chose to partake in individual interviews.
Interview dates were chosen based on participants’ avail-
ability. Three participants chose interview dates before
the focus group session, and eight participants chose dates
after the focus group session. Semistructured individual
interviews also enhance the credibility and authenticity
of emerging themes (Thorne et al., 1997). Five separate
parents from the first round of data collection partici-
pated in repeat individual interviews, which served to
enhance the rigor of the study by ensuring that the
emerging conceptualizations were firmly grounded in
the data and represented participants’ shared perceptions
(Thorne et al., 1997).

The focus group and interviews were audio-
recorded, transcribed verbatim, and de-identified with
pseudonyms. Transcriptions were audited for accuracy,
and only the primary investigator could connect the
pseudonyms to the participants. Focus group and inter-
views were facilitated by a topic guide (see Appendix S3,
available with the online version of this article) that
included questions about types of information, resources,
support, and contextual, personal or social factors that in-
fluence decision making. The topic guide was constructed
based on the Ottawa Decision Support Framework (see
Appendix S1), which is a well-validated instrument, and
the final guide was edited and reviewed by the research
team. Participants also raised topics that were important
to them.

Data were collected and emerging themes were iden-
tified concurrently in order to help shape the direc-
tion of the study (Thorne et al., 2004). Data were
collected iteratively, until participants were no longer
raising new issues or themes. Tentative themes were
discussed with the research team, who assisted in gen-
erating or clarifying follow-up questions for five re-
peated interviews. These repeated interviews explored
further similarities, differences, or elaboration of spe-
cific attributes of participants’ perceptions (Thorne
et al., 2004).

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A content analysis was performed using NVivo 10 (QSR
International, 2013). All transcribed data were entered,
initially read, and reread several times by the primary in-
vestigator. They were coded during this process to estab-
lish consistent thematic elements emerging from the data,
and possible relationships between them.

Rigor

The elements from the data, coding, and interrelation-
ships were independently reviewed by the other mem-
bers of the research team, and edited and further refined.
A group consensus of the final elements, their interrela-
tionships, and mapping was then agreed by all the team
members. In addition, the primary investigator main-
tained a reflective journal and NVivo 10 facilitated a de-
cision audit trail. The primary investigator used NVivo 10
to log when and why elements emerging from the data
were coded.

Results

All names used in this article are pseudonyms. Table 1
describes the demographic characteristics of the 15 par-
ticipants. The timeline between the GWS decision and
the interview or focus group ranged from 6 months to
2 years. The age of the child varied between 6 months
and 13 years. Six participants reported they received re-
sults, and nine reported they did not receive results. Of
the three participants that had a diagnosis for their child,
two reported they received it from GWS. Ten participants
reported they did not receive a diagnosis, and two partic-
ipants preferred not to respond.

Qualitative results are presented below in the broad
themes of parents’ decisional context, informational
needs, psychosocial needs, and supporting strategies
identified by parents. Subthemes are described in each
section.

Parents’ Decisional Context

The overall data highlighted the context-dependent
nature of decision making for GWS. Participants’ di-
verse circumstances and other elements such as person-
ality, values, beliefs, and amount of prior knowledge
influenced and personalized their decision making and
was believed by many participants to be a factor in the
amount and type of information they needed.

Despite parents’ diverse circumstances, commonalities
emerged from the data. Most participants (n = 12) de-
scribed having children who were sometimes acutely ill,
requiring medical attention or hospitalization, or under-
going a diagnostic odyssey for several months or years.

Table 1. Participant Demographics

No. of participants

Demographic (N = 15)

Gender

Female 12

Male 3

Age (years)

20–29 2

30–39 4

40–49 9

Highest level of education completed

High school 3

Postsecondary trade/vocational school 1

University/college 11

Graduate/doctorate 0

Marital status

Single 1

Common law 1

Married 12

Separated 1

Employment

Student 1

Employed outside the home 6

Homemaker 7

Unemployed 1

Total household income

<$10,000 1

$10,000–$29,999 1

$30,000–$49,999 0

$50,000–$69,999 1

$70,000–$89,999 5

$90,000–$99,999 0

$100,000 or more 3

No response 4

Ethnicity

Asian 3

Caucasian 8

Other 3

No response 1

Current residence

Within Vancouver 2

Outside Vancouver but <15 km from Vancouver 1

>15 km but <30 km from Vancouver 2

>30 km from Vancouver but within British Columbia 8

Outside of British Columbia 2

Clinical or research genome-wide sequencing

Clinical 4

Research 11

Affected child has a diagnosis

Yes 3

No 10

No response 2

Participants’ experiences included multiple visits to dif-
ferent HCPs and diagnostic and genetic tests. Participants
unanimously felt that their decision to proceed with GWS
was easy to make.

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Informational Needs

This is a partial report. Participants brought up more
concerns related to the process of receiving information
than the content of information. Participants’ prioritized
different content for decision making, and these are men-
tioned elsewhere (Li, 2014).

Volume of information. Participants received in-
formation from HCPs in the form of education, genetic
counseling, and consent. Most participants (n = 13) felt
that they received “enough” information, but two felt
they received “too much:” Kirsten said, “It was too much
information. One thing leads to the other. It’s too much
to remember. Especially with a lot of things going on with
my son. You’re trying to absorb things, little by little.”
Many participants (n = 10) thought that a large volume
of information given at one point in time was not helpful.
Candace said, “If I had asked the questions in the begin-
ning, it wouldn’t have been a flood of information and
knowledge all at one time. I would have known a little
bit along the way.”

Lack of knowledge. Several participants (n = 8) re-
alized that they had personal knowledge gaps about spe-
cific topics that became relevant to them later:

I think (incidental findings) would have been good to
have been brought up. I think at the time we were
all just really excited to get it done. So there wasn’t
much discussion. But now looking back there was an
incidental finding with my genes as a part of the whole
sequencing for my son that just popped up, it was
kind of a surprise. It would have been good to know
beforehand that that sort of stuff could have popped
up. (Candace)

Psychosocial Needs

Another identified theme was participants’ psychoso-
cial needs. Participants commonly spoke about the rela-
tional and psychosocial aspects of their decision-making
process.

Relationship with healthcare professionals
(HCPs). Most participants (n = 13) described the im-
portance of the HCP–parent relationship during decision
making about GWS. Participants prioritized different at-
tributes of the relationship, including trust (n = 7), con-
tinuity (n = 7), a clear and effective communication
style (n = 6), and being knowledgeable or informative
(n = 10) and collaborative (n = 4). Many participants
mentioned more than one attribute. An HCP–parent

relationship with these attributes helped participants feel
at ease with their decision making. Tracy said, “[My
child’s doctor and I] have a close connection and made
it very easy for me. I have a very strong relationship with
[my child’s doctor].”

Parents’ well-being. Many participants (n = 10)
felt that their own well-being was affected or compro-
mised due to their current circumstances. Participants de-
scribed feelings of fear, anxiety, uncertainty, frustration,
or feeling out of control:

The frustration of not knowing. My daughter has chal-
lenges and it all adds up to the ongoing conditional
challenge plus having no control over when the infor-
mation comes [from the HCP]. So basically you’re out
of control, and when you don’t have control over the
situation, it’s just frustrating. (Felix)

Participants valued the instances when HCPs recognized
and considered their well-being as parents in a vulnerable
or stressful situation:

Something (that) I liked from (my child’s doctors) was
that they were thinking everything about the baby and
also caring for (me). “Are you ready? (Do) you have
too much stress here?” I like[d] that they were worried
about me. (Gloria)

Supporting Strategies

Participants made suggestions or agreed with other
participants about best supportive strategies during the
decision-making process for GWS. These strategies are
summarized below.

Brief and understandable summaries. Partici-
pants preferred brief and understandable summaries, a
“Coles Notes” version:

One paragraph of ”this is really what you’re about
to read” then into detail as required. Basically the
bottom line up front, these are the worst things that
can happen, these are the advantages that could come
out of it. Sort of an abbreviated version of the best-case
scenario, worse-case scenario. (Felix)

Participants valued explanations in lay language that
avoided medical jargon:

I’m just an ordinary mom. (The doctor) leveled with
me. He explained to me things step by step, the
simplest way, so I would be able to understand things.
So that’s very important. This is not our daily language
(laughs). (Kirsten)

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Approaches to information delivery. Partici-
pants acknowledged that every person has different
communication needs and preferences for obtaining in-
formation. They suggested tailored approaches to infor-
mation delivery using different media: Sydney said, “I
think definitely the information to get was good on the
paper, but I’m a visual person too. I think with the videos
and having the sheets in front of you . . . that’s a pretty
good explanation.”

Most participants (n = 12) had a preference for a face-
to-face discussion for the initial informed consent process,
the return of results, receiving “bad news,” or any sit-
uation that required multiple questions or explanations.
Sandy said, “Of course face-to-face is best but is not al-
ways possible. If I was going to get some bad news, I
would definitely want it face-to-face.”

Layers of information. Each participant had dif-
ferent perceptions of what was “adequate” or “relevant”
information. They favored receiving layers of informa-
tion rather than receiving a large volume of information
at one point in time. For example, receiving informa-
tion ahead of the HCP discussion or meeting could allow
parents to better absorb the information given to them:
Sharon said, “Educational material should be provided
in advance of the consent because rarely can someone
sit and absorb a lot of the information and then reason-
ably be able to provide consent.” In addition, participants
suggested that take-home material be made available for
review:

It’s good to have a walk-away, something to give
parents like a pamphlet or a video. Generally when
you’re being taught something you’re listening but
maybe once you’ve left you’re like “oh, jeez I forgot to
ask that.” Well, if you have a pamphlet or a Q and A
type DVD, you can always put that on and be like “Oh,
okay, I get it, oh right, that’s what they were talking
about.” (Aida)

Related to the layers of information, one participant
proposed the idea of “layers of consent” to differentiate
consenting for the primary diagnosis from consenting to
receipt of IF results. The participant further suggested that
IFs be treated differently—just being mentioned as a pos-
sibility during the first discussion and considered in more
detail in a second layer of consent.

Sources of information. Participants valued credi-
ble sources of information: Sydney said, “A lot more peo-
ple would be at ease if they would get information strictly
from an actual doctor or a professional, and links to the

pages to read, rather than you trying to Google it.” Partic-
ipants emphasized the importance of HCP availability to
answer their questions: Aida said, “Making sure that the
parents know that if they do have any more questions
they can contact whoever is presenting the information”.

Discussion

Most participants were in GWS research studies (see
Table 1) that involved an affected child who was acutely
or chronically ill, and participants had prior experiences
with genetic testing. Similar to Bernhardt et al.’s study
(2015), these contextual factors likely influenced how the
HCP conducted the consent session and participants’ sub-
sequent decision making. Given most participants’ cir-
cumstances, it was not surprising that proceeding with
GWS was perceived as an easy decision. Participants’ past
experiences of having an acutely ill child, or undergoing
a diagnostic odyssey and other genetics tests, and their fo-
cus on finding solutions, has likely influenced the ease of
their decision. Parents value a diagnosis (Makela, Birch,
Friedman, & Marra, 2009) and are unlikely to pass up the
possibility of finding answers for their child.

At the inception of the study, the researchers predicted
that participants would articulate priority informational
needs prior to making a decision about GWS for their
child. However, participants raised other relevant topics,
including the lack of relevant knowledge they received,
the strategy of providing layers of information and con-
sent over time, and the possibility that psychosocial needs
may be more significant than their informational needs.
Even though participants felt that they received adequate
or too much information, some parents realized that they
lacked information they would like to have had at the
decision time. The participants’ lack of knowledge may
be attributable to numerous factors, such as the urgency
of participants’ circumstances, lack of time during the
counseling or consent process, complexity and volume of
the information presented, or participants’ poor recall of
information.

Participants consented to GWS in the interest of their
child, a decision they considered easy. However, this
should not take away the importance of properly in-
forming them about the nature and possible outcomes of
proceeding with GWS. From an ethical standpoint, pro-
viding this information to parents respects their role
as representatives of the best interest of their child
(Dondorp, Sikkema-Raddatz, de Die-Smulders, & de
Wert, 2012).

Most participants thought that large volumes of in-
formation given at one time can result in “information
overload.” Dondorp and colleagues (2012) discussed the

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challenge of obtaining meaningful informed consent in
genome-wide array testing and commented that HCPs
do not have time to discuss all of the possible outcomes
from GWS prior to testing. The extent and complex-
ity of GWS counseling has also been described by re-
searchers in the United States (Levenseller et al., 2013;
Ormond et al., 2010). Genetic counselors acknowledge
that participants cannot devote up to 6 hr to consent,
or comprehend all of the information in the documents
and counseling session (Bernhardt et al., 2015). Thus,
there is a need to use approaches that avoid making par-
ents feel overwhelmed with too much information all
at once, while at the same time ensuring they are well
informed.

Participants preferred to have information made avail-
able as it became more relevant to them, suggesting that
not all participants’ informational needs were met, and
supporting the concept of providing layers of information
and layers of consent over time to help prevent informa-
tion overload. Appelbaum et al. (2013) support “staged
consent” as one way to improve current consent prac-
tices. The participant would be alerted to the possibility
of IFs, with additional information provided when and if
IFs are found to facilitate informed decision making about
return of the IF results. Layers of information and con-
sent may be a suitable approach for parents considering
GWS.

The participants’ suggestions of supportive strategies
should be empirically tested to assess their effectiveness
for parents’ knowledge acquisition, comprehension, pos-
itive psychosocial outcomes, and ability to make a qual-
ity decision about GWS for their child. For example, the
feasibility, effectiveness, and sustainability of providing
layers of information alongside layers of consent should
be clinically studied. There is a need to test this and
other strategies to provide people with education that is
sufficient to ensure meaningful and well-informed deci-
sions. Some example strategies suggested by researchers
include different informed consent or return of results
models, such as generic consent (Ormond et al., 2007), a
self-guided management approach for GWS results (Yu,
Jamal, Tabor, & Bamshad, 2013), and a tiered-layered-
staged informed consent model (Bunnik, Janssens, &
Schermer, 2013).

Psychosocial health can be viewed as the degree to
which a person has more positive beliefs and feelings
(e.g., psychological well-being, self-efficacy), and fewer
negative beliefs and feelings (e.g., worry, anxiety, fear;
Street, Makoul, Arora, & Epstein, 2009). Participants
described factors that contributed to their psychosocial
needs, such as having a good HCP–parent relationship
and HCPs’ consideration of parents’ well-being. The
importance of the HCP–patient relationship and its

associated positive effects on health outcomes is not new
(Kaplan & Greenfield, 1989). Aspects such as trust and
the provision of emotional support have been found
to lead to more positive working relationships and
less decisional conflict (Stewart, Pyke-Grimm, & Kelly,
2005). Thus, it is important for HCPs to be mindful of
the aspects of the relationship that have the potential
to impact parents’ psychosocial needs and their decision
making (Matthias, Salyers, & Frankel, 2013; Stewart
et al., 2005). Participants’ psychosocial needs may be as
important as their informational needs.

Limitations

The sample size was small (N = 15) and it was com-
posed primarily of female Caucasian Canadians of higher
socio-economic status. The study did not include the
views of parents who opted not to participate or parents
who declined GWS. It will be important to include these
parents’ views as they may have different perspectives on
parental decisional needs. Whereas the study has a nar-
row context that precludes global generalizability of the
results, the findings suggest the value of a larger, more
diverse study.

The age of the participant’s child and the timeline be-
tween the GWS decision and the interview or focus group
were not specifically collected; however, some partici-
pants indirectly reported this data as they told their sto-
ries. Participants were unable to recall the length of their
child’s diagnostic trajectory, and data on this were not
collected.

There were no direct observations of the genetic coun-
seling session, decision making, or informed consent pro-
cess, so the information that the HCPs actually conveyed
to each participant (and their interactions) was not ac-
cessible. Furthermore, participants may have inaccurate
recall of their experiences and decision-making processes.
Nonetheless, the participants’ perspectives provided com-
mon concepts that emerged from the data.

Conclusions

Participants felt that their decision to proceed with
GWS was easy to make; however, they had unmet deci-
sional needs. Unresolved decisional needs may adversely
affect decision quality, which could affect the parents’ ac-
tions and emotions, and the child’s long-term health and
appropriate use of health services (Jacobsen, O’Connor,
& Stacey, 2013). It is essential for HCPs around the
world that offer GWS to consider the current settings
and processes that may contribute to creating unmet de-
cisional needs and to execute strategies to address these
needs.

Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2016; 48:3, 265–275. 271
C© 2016 Sigma Theta Tau International

Parents’ Perspective in Genome-Wide Sequencing Li et al.

Practice Implications

The supportive strategies that the participants sug-
gested should be considered to help improve education,
counseling, decision making, and the informed consent
process for parents considering GWS for their child. Par-
ticipants’ views were congruent with genetic counselors’
perspectives about summarizing main topics, tailoring the
delivery of content based on the family’s level of knowl-
edge, interests, and concerns, and guiding families to ask
questions (Bernhardt et al., 2015). Genetic counselors
can evaluate families’ understanding by assessing non-
verbal cues (e.g., eye contact, nodding), the number and
type of questions that families ask, and checking their un-
derstanding during the session (Bernhardt et al., 2015). It
is important for HCPs to assess parents’ individual values,
priorities, and informational needs and tailor information
accordingly (Bernhardt et al., 2015; Durand, Stiel, Boivin,
& Elwyn, 2010; Jackson, Cheater & Reid, 2008; Ormond
et al., 2007).

Interventions to support unmet decisional needs may
be needed. Decision support can include a variety of
methods, including a service (e.g., decision coaching),
a system (e.g., an interactive decision aid), or products
such as pamphlets, videos, or websites (Elwyn, Frosch,
Volandes, Edwards, & Montori, 2010). Implementing a
variety of such decision support may be a way to help
mitigate information overload, prevent gaps in knowl-
edge about GWS, tailor information that is most rele-
vant and important, and help support parents to make
decisions that are right for themselves and their families.
However, further research is needed to explore whether
such decision support interventions are feasible, effective,
and sustainable.

Implications for Nursing

It was clear that participants required support and re-
sources related to understanding and deciding on GWS
for their child. On the other end, genetic counselors
have expressed challenges with GWS counseling and
consent, and ensuring the patients understood the con-
tent and its implications (Machini et al., 2014). To en-
sure quality clinical practice, the ASHG recommends that
HCPs involved with pediatric genetic testing need to have
appropriate training (Botkin et al., 2015). With the
expected growth of genomic testing, there may be inad-
equate trained medical geneticists and counselors to sup-
port patients and families. Therefore, clinical nongenetic
HCPs may need continuing education and support to ad-
dress the challenges related to integrating genetics and
genomics into practice. The anticipated increasing num-
ber and use of genetic and genomic tests will need more

genetic counselors, physicians, and genetically competent
nurses (Botkin et al., 2015).

Nursing’s emphasis on patient advocacy (Hamilton,
2009), health promotion, caring, and understanding in-
dividuals and their relationships (Calzone et al., 2013)
brings a valuable perspective to the application of GWS.
The profession has a commitment to being patient fo-
cused by striving to understand patients’ and families’
perceived needs, priorities, and expectations for health
care, and reorganizing services around those needs (Lutz
& Bowers, 2000). Nurses have an intimate knowledge of
patients’ and families’ perspectives, and are also skilled in
communications, building partnerships, and understand-
ing clinical processes and procedures as well as the bio-
logic underpinnings of health and disease.

Nurses working in various areas can help incorporate
genetic and genomic information into different aspects of
the healthcare system. For example, nurses could help
parents clarify their values and expectations, guide them
to relevant resources, and work with genetic HCPs to sup-
port the family through a shared decision-making pro-
cess. Furthermore, the nurse may be the HCP that the
patient or family is most comfortable with during the
decision-making process. There are, therefore, opportu-
nities for nurses to become more involved in supporting
patients and families who are considering GWS. Informa-
tion for nurses who are interested in learning about ge-
netics, genomics, and nursing already exist (see Clinical
Resources).

The need for nursing to continue educating its prac-
ticing workforce in genomics and to be prepared to re-
spond to patients’ GWS inquiries only grows (Calzone
et al., 2013). Many nurses are unprepared to respond
to patients’ genetic testing inquiries, and general nurs-
ing competency in genomics remains limited (Calzone
et al., 2012). In Canada, there is inadequate attention to
genetics and genomics in nursing curricula at all levels
(Bottorff et al., 2005). Current efforts to integrate genetics
into Canadian nursing education are unknown. Efforts to
establish and refine nursing competency in genomics are
most well defined in the United States (Calzone, Jenkins,
Prows, & Masny, 2011), the United Kingdom, and Japan
(Kirk, Calzone, Arimori, & Tonkin, 2011).

Genomic technologies have far-reaching applications
in health promotion, disease prevention, diagnostics, and
treatment, and will become increasingly important across
all areas of nursing practice.

Acknowledgments

This study was completed in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for Karen Li’s Master of Science in Nurs-
ing from the University of British Columbia. We offer our

272 Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2016; 48:3, 265–275.
C© 2016 Sigma Theta Tau International

Li et al. Parents’ Perspective in Genome-Wide Sequencing

enduring gratitude to all the study participants. We thank
Dr. A. Townsend for her help with the focus group. We
appreciate the efforts of Dr. L. Armstrong, Dr. W. Gibson,
Dr. G. Horvath, Dr. A. Lehman, Dr. J. Rozmus, and
Dr. C. van Karnebeek for their help with the recruitment
of the study participants. This work was supported by
grant ETG 922250 from APOGEE-Net CanGèneTest.

Clinical Resources
� Essential Nursing Competencies and Curric-

ula Guidelines for Genetics and Genomics.
Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.
genome.gov/17517146

� Genetics and Genomics in Nursing: http://
www.genome.gov/17515679

� American Nurses Association and Personalized
Medicine: http://www.nursingworld.org/genetics

� Journal of Nursing Scholarship Genomic Nursing
Series: http://www.genome.gov/27552093

� Health Professional Education: Genomics and Ge-
netics: http://www.genome.gov/17517037

� International Society of Nurses in Genetics:
http://www.isong.org/index.php

� Journal of Nursing Scholarship Genomic
Nursing Webinar Series: http://www.genome.
gov/27552312

� Learn Genetics: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/
� Learning Genetics: Learn about Exome Se-

quencing and Secondary Findings: http://www.
learninggenetics.org/

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Supporting Information

Additional Supporting Information may be found in
the online version of this article at the publisher’s web
site:

Appendix S1. Ottawa Decision Support Framework
Appendix S2. Information Sheet
Appendix S3. Topic Guide

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