Gamified lessons support molecular genetics education of first year biology students during COVID-19 lockdown

This study compared the associated impact of gamified molecular genetics lessons on undergraduate student grades for pre-COVID-19 blended delivery and COVID-19 online only delivery of a first-year biology course. When the molecular genetics gamified lessons were used by on- and off-campus students to support their learning, most students had successful learning outcomes in either blended or online only learning environments. In contrast, students who chose not to use these lessons had significantly greater failure rates for both the molecular biology and the genetics short answer questions in the final invigilated exams. Importantly, there was noticeable gamified lesson fatigue observed by both on- and off-campus students and therefore when incorporating gamified lessons into courses, curriculum design needs to be carefully considered. In conclusion, the use of gamified lessons was associated with significantly reduced student failure rates for molecular genetics concepts studied in a university foundational biology course.

Investigating Patient Interactions with an Automated Conversational Agent Delivering Pre-test Genetics Education: A Descriptive Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Cancer genetic testing has grown exponentially in the past decade in its use for quantifying hereditary cancer risk, while also its use for targeting treatment and care. With this continued growth and shortage of healthcare workforces, there is a need for automated strategies that provide high quality genetics services to patients in order to reduce clinical demand on genetics providers. Conversational agents have shown promise in managing mental health, patient pain management, and chronic conditions and are increasingly being used in cancer genetic services. However, research on how these agents are utilized by patients is limited. OBJECTIVE Therefore, our current study aim was to assess users’ interactions with a conversational agent for pre-test genetics education prior to genetic testing. METHODS The conversational agent provided scripted content similar to what is delivered in a pre-test genetic counseling visit for cancer genetic testing. Outside of a core set of information delivered to all patients, users were able to navigate within the chat to request additional content in areas of interest. An AI preprogrammed library was also established to allow users to ask open-ended questions of the conversational agent. Descriptives statistics were used for quantitative measures and thematic analysis was used for qualitative responses. RESULTS Of 93 National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines eligible patients offered access to the conversational agent, 36 started the chat (38.7%), with 30 completed the chat (32.3%). Once a participant completed a chat, a transcript of the interaction was developed for the research team, from which we extracted the following data and compiled results. The majority of users who completed the chat indicated that they wanted to continue with genetic testing (70%, n=21); 30% were unsure (n=9) and no patients declined moving forward with testing. Those who decided to test spent an average of 10 minutes on the chat (SD=2.57), selected an average of 1.2 additional pieces of information, and generally did not ask open-ended questions. Those who were unsure spent 4.0 more minutes on average (mean=14.1, SD=7.41, P=.03) with the chat, selected an average of 2.9 additional pieces of information, and asked at least 1 open-ended question. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that the chat met the information needs of the majority of patients considering cancer genetic testing. However, a subset of patients may need additional education or interpersonal support prior to making a testing decision. Such high-information seeking patients may need additional support from a clinical provider to make a testing decision. Genetic counseling team members should follow up with patients who have additional questions and concerns to alleviate any remaining concerns. Therefore, conversational agents have the potential to be a scalable alternative for pre-test genetics education, reducing clinical demand on genetics providers.

Genetics education program to help public health nurses improve their knowledge and enhance communities’ genetic literacy: a pilot study

Background As human genetics knowledge develops, public genetic literacy needs to be increased, though the educational capacity for this purpose has not yet been fully developed. Under this circumstance, the daily work of public health nurses can be viewed as an opportunity to enhance public genetic literacy. However, in Japan, there is not only a lack of public knowledge of human genomics but also a lack of public health nurses’ recognition about genomic literacy. A short-term education program was implemented as a pilot study. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the program to support public health nurses’ activity aimed at promoting health services-related genetic literacy. Methods The genetics education program was implemented in December 2019, in Kagoshima, Japan. Twenty-three public health nurses cooperated with the research. The program was composed of a case study on consultation, a lecture on hereditary diseases, and a discussion on the role of public health nurses. Familial hypercholesterolemia was used as the topic of the case study. We evaluated scores for cognition, affect, and psychomotor characteristics related to their learning goals before and after the program using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Answers in the consultation were qualitatively analyzed. Results The mean cognitive score, capturing provision of explanations of hereditary disease, was 6.3 before the program but increased significantly to 9.3 after the program (p < 0.001). For the affective score, the goal of which was deepening interest in human genetics, the mean score increased significantly from 8.5 before to 11.0 after (p < 0.001). For the psychomotor score, addressing the need for genetic consultation, the mean score increased significantly from 4.4 before to 8.1 after (p < 0.001). Prominent themes extracted from descriptions on the worksheet post training included, “providing advice and accurate information on genetic disorders” and “referral to a specialized organization.” Conclusions Our findings indicated that this education program helps public health nurses be positively involved in human genetic disorders. Thus, they may connect to their local community to provide accurate genetics knowledge and advice for health management and promoting genetic literacy.

The Misuse of Pedigree Analysis in the Eugenics Movement

Pedigree analysis has long been an essential tool in human genetics as well as a staple of genetics education. Students of genetics might be surprised to learn that human pedigrees were first popularized in the United States by proponents of eugenics, the pseudoscientific social movement aimed at improving the genetic quality of the human race. Notably, the influential eugenicist Charles B. Davenport employed pedigree charts to support his belief that not only were such medical conditions as Huntington disease and albinism inherited in a simple Mendelian fashion, but so too were such characteristics as alcoholism, criminality, and “feeblemindedness.” We now see the flaws in Davenport’s pedigree analysis, but at the time, it was the latest scientific advance. The misuse of pedigree analysis during the eugenics era may serve as a cautionary tale for those who are now harnessing the latest genetic technologies to solve complex problems.