Health Service Delivery Outcomes From Nursing in Genomics: A Scoping Review of the Literature (2012-2025).
Jordan N Keels, Joanne Thomas, Kathleen A Calzone and 4 others
PMID 42426972WHAT IT FOUND
Genomic nursing was reported to expand access, streamline workflow and support patient decisions in 66 service-delivery papers, but the evidence is mostly from high-income English-speaking countries and roles remain unclear.
Key findings
01Of the 66 included service-delivery papers, 51/66 (77.2%) were service delivery level, 7/66 (10.6%) research-related and 8/66 (12.1%) societal or governmental.
02Service delivery level papers reported improved clinical workflow, expanded access to genomic services, and cost-effective nurse integration that reduced specialty clinic burden.
03Barriers to genetic testing and genomics implementation remained, and nursing roles in genomics were not always recognized.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This review mapped the literature rather than testing whether genomic nursing improves patient outcomes, and it did not assess risk of bias because included studies were too different. Some nursing contributions may have been missed because nurses were part of multidisciplinary teams and not always identifiable. Most papers came from high-income English-speaking countries, so they may not fit other health systems. The service delivery papers were mostly service utilization (43/51, 84.3%), so they describe how services were used rather than whether patients got better.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. Dr. Dwyer received funding from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and the National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for this work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the reports of improved workflow, access and cost-effectiveness as proof that genomic nursing works. This is a scoping review of 66 heterogeneous papers, with no risk-of-bias assessment, and most papers came from high-income English-speaking countries.