Lay perceptions of predictive testing for diabetes based on DNA test results versus family history assessment: a focus group study

Table 3 Overview of themes raised by participants comparing DNA test results with family history assessment

Themes	DNA test	Family history assessment	Both tests
Identification of people at risk
	Diabetes is not severe enough	Can be assessed quickly	Can identify people at risk
		Diabetes family history is unknown	Only for high risk individuals
		No use for people with no family history
		There are other risk factors for diabetes
Positive and negative health outcomes
Motivation to engage in healthy behaviour	The test is a deliberate decision	There is an example of diabetes patients within the family	Genetic risk cannot be influenced
	Risk is certain	People with a family history are already aware of the risk	False reassurance
Psychological impact		Worry for and about children	Little or no psychological harm
			Worry about diabetes risk
Family issues
Influence on family relationships		Opens family discussion about diabetes and provides support
		Some do not want to be informed, disturbs family relations
		Someone in the family will be blamed
Informing family members			Obligation to disclose risk information to family members
			Allows to raise children more consciously
Autonomy
	Not performed unasked for	Can be offered to everyone	Risk tests should be voluntary
	No tests on embryos or children
	Informative before having children
Informational privacy
Discrimination			Discrimination by insurance company or employer
Sensitive data	Ownership of data	Private information
	No trust in relatively new test

ISSN: 1471-2458