A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF A GENETIC COUNSELING FOLLOW-UP STUDY IN MEN AND WOMEN

Abstract

A follow-up study of 139 women and 105 men for whom genetic counseling had been provided was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the genetic counseling service at the Arizona Health Sciences Center. Adequate recall of all of the genetic information was demonstrated by less than 2% of the respondents. Significantly more women than men were able to recall the diagnosis, whereas no difference was found between men and women in the ability to recall the recurrence risk or mode of inheritance. Eighty-seven percent of the respondents described the counseling experience as favorable. A direct relationship was noted between the degree of satisfaction and the counselees¹ 1) understanding of the counseling and 2) satisfaction with the answers to their questions. Women were significantly more concerned about pain associated with amniocentesis than were men, whereas men were significantly more concerned about injury to the mother during amniocentesis than were women.