Purpose: There are developmental disorders that occur due to our genes. These developmental disorders can be the cause of speech and language disorders. The increase in the identified disorders related to genetics necessitates that speech and language therapists (SLPs) have sufficient knowledge about “genetics”. This study aims to examine the attitudes and knowledge levels about the genetics of speech and language therapy students who studying in Turkey.
Method: In this study, a descriptive survey model was used. The data of the study were obtained with two different questionnaires. These questionnaires were prepared based on the similar ones used in the literature. The first questionnaire was a demographic form. This questionnaire included information such as undergraduate level, judgment of self-efficacy in genetic information, questions regarding courses taken about genetics, and whether genetics should be emphasized in the field of speech and language therapy. The second questionnaire was the "Genetic Information Questionnaire". This questionnaire’s 28 items were also prepared by scanning the literature for similar information. The questionnaires were completed by 175 speech and language therapy students. The data were analyzed using the SPSS-22 program. Frequency tables were prepared for sociodemographic questions according to the answers given. To study the differences in the group averages of the variables according to the Genetic Information Score, one-way ANOVA analysis was administered for the variables with 3 or more groups, and non-parametric Mann Whitney- U analysis was used for the variables whose group observations were insufficient for parametric tests. Analyzes were performed at alpha = .05 level. The significance level was accepted as p <.05.
Results: The genetic scores of the participants who thought they were sufficient in genetic information were found to be significantly higher than those who did not (p = .008 <.05). Similarly, the survey scores of the participants who took a course on genetics were found to be significantly higher than those who did not (p = .002 <.05). It was seen that the success percentage of the participants in the genetic information questionnaire was 74.96.
Conclusion: Although most of the participants had not taken any courses about genetics, most of the participants answered positively to the questions about their knowledge level. Nevertheless, most of the participants declared that there was a need to add a lesson about genetics to the curriculum. This study is aimed at the knowledge level of speech and language therapist candidates about genetics and contributes to the literature that genetics should be included in the curriculum.
Keywords
genetics, speech and language therapy, genetics knowledge level
References
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