Decision-making about prenatal genetic testing among pregnant Korean-American women

Abstract

Objective: to understand the prenatal genetic testing decision-making processes among pregnant Korean-American women. Design: a qualitative, descriptive research design. Participants: referrals and snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 10 Korean-American women who had been recommended for amniocentesis during pregnancy in the United States (U. S.). All participants were born in Korea and had immigrated to the U. S. The number of years living in the U. S. ranged from 4 to 11 (M= 5.7). Setting: various regional areas of the U. S. Measurements and Findings: the researchers conducted face-to-face or phone interviews using semistructured interview guides. The interviews were conducted in the Korean language and lasted approximately 50-100 minutes. The interview guides focused on the decision-making process and experiences with prenatal genetic testing, as well as reflections on the decisions. Four core themes emerged related to the participants' decision-making processes, according to their descriptions. These themes are (1) facing the challenges of decision-making, (2) seeking support, (3) determining one's preferred role in the decision-making process, and (4) feeling uncomfortable with the degree of patient autonomy in U. S. health care. Key conclusion: researchers concluded that many distinctive factors influence the decision-making processes used by pregnant Korean-American women. The results have the potential to improve shared decision-making practices regarding prenatal genetic testing. Implications for Practice: clinicians need to understand the sociocultural underpinnings of pregnant KoreanAmerican immigrants regarding prenatal genetic screening and testing as an initial step to engage these patients in shared decision-making.