Informed choice in a multicultural world

Abstract

Knowledge and autonomy are key aspects of informed choice; it is important to define what is important for participants to understand, when accepting or declining screening and for individuals to understand that screening is optional and their own personal choice There are no agreed thresholds or minimum standards for the knowledge an individual is required to have to make an ‘informed’ choice. It is time that minimum agreed standards are developed for practitioners who provide genetic information. There is no standard for evaluating good knowledge or informed choice in population reproductive genetic screening, however measuring people’s choices is a good indicator of informed choice. Informed choice in a multicultural world will be explored and an overview of the different levels of informed choice, practiced in the pathway from genetic screening to identifying at risk couples discussed.