Faculty Collaboration Database

Genetic counselors' perspectives on social determinant of health information and its potential impact on the counseling session. J Genet Couns 2025 Dec;34(6):e70153

Date

12/02/2025

Pubmed ID

41329029

DOI

10.1002/jgc4.70153

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-105023452543 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)

Abstract

Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), such as education level, housing status, lived environment, and socioeconomic status, can create obstacles to accessing healthcare services, particularly for minoritized people and individuals with chronic health conditions. While previous research shows that addressing SDoH can lead to positive health outcomes, no studies have investigated the role of SDoH in genetic counseling. This mixed-methods study aimed to clarify if genetic counselors (GCs) are aware of SDoH, and if knowing a patient's specific SDoH would prompt GCs to change their approach to that patient's care. An online survey was sent to GCs, consisting of scenario-based questions to explore whether knowledge of a patient's SDoH information prompts changes in approaches to care. Nearly 45% of respondents reported only somewhat to no familiarity with SDoH. However, respondents with moderate to extreme familiarity with SDoH were 1.58 times more likely to modify patient care to address SDoH than those with little to no familiarity (p = 0.003). However, nearly half of the respondents reported that their electronic medical record (EMR) system does not display SDoH information. Qualitative analysis demonstrated that GCs would use SDoH information to make specific changes in counseling content, identify resources, provide referrals to services such as local resources or social work, and offer alternative service delivery methods. These preliminary findings suggest that GCs can leverage SDoH data to help patients overcome obstacles stemming from SDoH and highlight areas for improvement within healthcare systems and education. Healthcare institutions should consider effective workflows to accurately capture and display SDoH within the EMR and increase efforts surrounding SDoH education. An earlier introduction to SDoH through GC training programs could promote higher familiarity with SDoH. Together, increased SDoH awareness and easier access to information about patient-specific barriers may lead to an increase in GC-initiated interventions to address disparities stemming from SDoH.

Author List

Fittanto S, Kirschner AP, Levas M, Kielczewski C, Syverson E

Authors

Michael Levas MD Vice-Chair, Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Erin Syverson MS Director, Assistant Professor in the Institute for Health and Humanity department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Counselors
Female
Genetic Counseling
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Social Determinants of Health
Surveys and Questionnaires