Effectiveness of a genetics self-instructional module for nurses involved in egg donor screening.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a self-instructional module in increasing nurses' knowledge of genetics.

Design: Pretest/posttest study design. Participants completed a pretest questionnaire used to measure baseline knowledge of basic human genetic concepts and risk assessment and collect descriptive data. Participants then reviewed a self-instructional module and completed a posttest questionnaire.

Setting: Study materials were mailed to 262 registered nurses involved in screening egg donors at 177 reproductive health centers in the United States from July to September 2000.

Participants: Sixty-five registered nurses working at reproductive health centers. One hundred of 262 eligible nurses completed the pretest (38% return rate) and 65 of these 100 nurses also completed the posttest (65% retention rate).

Intervention: A 22-page self-instructional booklet on genetic risk assessment.

Main Outcome Measures: Pretest and posttest responses.

Results: There was a significant increase of 20.8% in participants' mean knowledge score on the posttest (M = 89.0%, SD = 8%, range = 67%-100%) as compared with the pretest (M = 69.0%, SD = 12%, range = 42%-92%), based on paired t-test analysis (t = 11.74, SE = 0.426, p < .0001).

Conclusion: A genetics self-instructional module for registered nurses was effective in increasing knowledge of basic human genetic concepts and risk assessment. More in-depth independent study programs in genetics for nurses are recommended.