Peer-reviewed article
Healthcare professionals’ views on expanding newborn screening with or without genomics in France: Results of the SeDeN-p2 study
Camille Level, Frédéric Huet, Dominique Salvi, Christel Thauvin‐Robinet, Emmanuel G. Simon et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This national survey asked healthcare professionals in France what they think about expanding newborn screening, including using genetic sequencing as a first-line test. It was run between June and December 2021 and 1077 responses were analysed. Almost all respondents supported screening for treatable childhood-onset conditions. Views differed by specialty: genetics professionals were more cautious, while midwives and gynaecologists were generally more favourable. The authors describe the support as strong but conditional.
Key points
- Over 95% of respondents endorsed adding treatable childhood-onset conditions to newborn screening.
- 29% still considered the current newborn screening programme sufficient.
- Genetics professionals were more conservative, especially about variants with limited actionability, organisational constraints and interpretive uncertainty.
- Shared ethical concerns were data misuse, psychosocial burden and the child's future autonomy.
- Improved communication with families was widely emphasised.
Limitations
This is a survey of professionals' opinions, recruited through professional networks and learned societies, so it does not show the views of parents or whether genomic screening benefits children. The abstract does not say how representative the respondents are of all professionals in France.
Abstract
Abstract Therapeutic advances and the rapid, cost-effective development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) have increased interest in expanding newborn screening (NBS) through genomics. The SeDeN-p2 study assessed the acceptability among healthcare professionals in France, of expanding NBS, particularly with genetics as a first-line test, by examining areas of convergence and divergence in their expectations. A national cross-sectional survey was conducted between June and December 2021 via professional networks and learned societies involved in NBS and genetics, in partnership with the French Society of Newborn Screening. The questionnaire comprised 101 closed-ended and 14 open-ended questions. After data cleaning, 1077 responses were analysed. Respondents were mainly paediatricians (43%), gynaecologists or midwives (36%), and medical geneticists or genetic counsellors (17%). Support for the inclusion of treatable childhood-onset conditions was very high, with over 95% endorsing their integration into NBS, although 29% still considered the current NBS programme sufficient. Views varied substantially by specialty, particularly regarding the scope of conditions and the use of NGS. Genetics professionals were more conservative, especially concerning variants with limited actionability, organisational constraints, and interpretive uncertainty, while midwives and gynaecologists were generally more favourable. Convergence was strongest for treatable paediatric conditions and shared ethical concerns, notably data misuse, psychosocial burden, and the child’s future autonomy. The need for improved communication with families was widely emphasised. The SeDeN-p2 study shows strong but conditional support among French healthcare professionals for integrating genetics into NBS, providing key insights to inform future policy and practice.