We discovered that two of the items in the knowledge index were incorrectly identified. We reran all the analyses and none of the major findings changed. However, we would like to correct the error since our hope is that others will use the measure. The items in the GKAI are listed below and the correct mean GKAI score is 3.28 (Table 1). The regression analysis (Table 2) shows two indicators, “US born vs. Foreign Born” and “Patient Population: Greater than 20% Minority vs. Less than 20% Minority” changed from highly significant (p = .01) to significant (p = .05). All other significance levels were unchanged. The model fit was also unchanged.
TABLE 1.
Sample Characteristics
| Variable | |
|---|---|
| Physicians’ Demographics | |
| US Born (%) | 70.9 |
| Self-reported Race (%) | |
| White, non-Hispanic | 67.1 |
| Minority | 32.9 |
| Medical Training & Clinical Experience | |
| Years in Practice [mean (SD)] | 16.9 (9.8) |
| Internal Medicine (%) | 87.0 |
| Current Genetics Has Relevance (% Agree) | 71.8 |
| Had Genetics Training in Primary Specialty Residency (%) | 11.3 |
| Type of Degree (%) | |
| MD | 94.2 |
| DO | 5.8 |
| Practice Characteristics | |
| RACE [mean, (SD)] | 13.8 (5.6) |
| Knowledge Score [mean (SD)] | 3.28 (1.2) |
| Biological Beliefs [mean (SD)] | 11.0 (3.4) |
| Clinical Beliefs [mean (SD)] | 11.7 (2.4) |
| Patient Panel Over 20% Minority (%) | 74.0 |
TABLE 2.
OLS Regression Analysis Associations of Physician Knowledge of Genetic Variation and Beliefs about the Biological and Clinical Importance of Race with Use of Race in Clinical Decision-making.
| (b) † | (se) | |
|---|---|---|
| Physicians’ Demographics | ||
| Age | 0.112* | 0.047 |
| Self-reported Race: White, non-Hispanic vs. Minority | −0.521 | 0.444 |
| US Born vs. Foreign Born | −0.897* | 0.458 |
| Medical Training & Clinical Experience | ||
| Years in Practice | −0.072 | 0.047 |
| Internal Medicine Specialty vs. Other Fields | 1.459** | 0.522 |
| Genetic Training in Residency vs. No Genetic Training | 0.797 | 0.541 |
| Current Genetics Relevance: Disagree vs. Agree | 0.703*** | 0.138 |
| MD vs. DO | −2.491** | 0.807 |
| Practice Characteristics | ||
| Intercept | −2.15503 | 2.243 |
| Knowledge | 0.125 | 0.148 |
| Biological Belief | 0.505*** | 0.057 |
| Clinical Belief | 0.720*** | 0.079 |
| Patient Population: Greater than 20% Minority vs. Less than 20% Minority | 0.995* | 0.400 |
R-squared for this model= 220.391; F-value=35.10, P-value <0.0001
coefficient gives the change in the RACE score for every 1 unit increase (e.g. every additional point in score for biological beliefs) or between the indicated group and reference group (e.g. genetic training in primary residency vs. no genetic training).
P<0.05
P<0.01
P<0.001
Items in the knowledge index are:
| ITEM# | QUESTION | ANSWER |
|---|---|---|
| GKAI1 | The DNA sequences of two randomly selected healthy individuals of the same sex are 90–95% identical. | False |
| GKAI2 | Most common diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, are caused by a single gene variant. | False |
| GKAI4 | All the genetic variation in an individual can be attributed to either spontaneous (i.e., de novo) or inherited changes in the human genome. | True |
| GKAI6 | Individual genetic variants are usually highly predictive of the manifestation of common disease. | False |
| GKAI7 | Prevalence of many Mendelian diseases differs by racial groups. | True |
| GKAI8 | Self-reported race is informative of a racial group’s genetic ancestral background. | True |
Contributor Information
Sherrill L. Sellers, College of Education, Health & Society, Miami University, 210 E. Spring Street, Oxford, OH 45056, Office: 513-529-2340.
Brooke Cunningham, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, 717 Delaware Street Se, Rm 420, MMC 381, Minneapolis, MN 55414, Office: (612) 624-7244.
Vence L. Bonham, Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 31 Center Drive Room B1B37-G, Bethesda, MD 20892, Office: (301)594-3973.