Public Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Premarital Screening and Genetic Counseling: A Mixed-Methods Study in Egypt

Public Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Premarital Screening and Genetic Counseling: A Mixed-Methods Study in Egypt | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Public Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Premarital Screening and Genetic Counseling: A Mixed-Methods Study in Egypt Amal I. Khalil, Eman A. Shokr, Hanady Shehata This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8662775/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Premarital screening and genetic counseling (PMSGC) help identify hereditary and infectious conditions before marriage. In Egypt, many people know about PMSGC, but there are still misunderstandings about what it covers, especially regarding childhood development and complex neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Aim This study looked at how much people know about PMSGC and their attitudes toward it. It also explored the social, ethical, and practical factors that affect whether Egyptian adults accept and use these services. Methods The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, 406 adults completed questionnaires assessing their knowledge and attitudes toward PMSGC. The researchers used statistical methods to examine links among background factors, knowledge, and attitudes. Then, 20 selected participants participated in interviews, and their responses were analyzed for common themes. The results from both parts were combined during the analysis. Results Although most participants reported prior awareness of PMSGC (92%), detailed knowledge of most participants (92%) had heard of PMSGC, but many did not know exactly which conditions are included in the national program or what genetic testing can and cannot do. Only 41% could correctly name the screened conditions. While most people had a positive view of PMSGC, interviews showed that many saw it mainly as a required step for marriage, not as a chance for helpful counseling. Cultural beliefs, fear of stigma, worries about relationship stability, and limited access to counseling were major barriers to real engagement. Knowledge gaps and sociocultural barriers. Conclusion PMSGC should be framed as a tool for informed reproductive decision-making rather than as a means of preventing complex neurodevelopmental disorders. Genetic counselors, nurses, and primary healthcare professionals play a pivotal role in delivering culturally sensitive, non-directive counseling and in improving public understanding of the realistic benefits and limitations of premarital genetic services. premarital screening genetic counseling reproductive decision-making public attitudes mixed methods Egypt misconceptions persist regarding its scope particularly in relation to childhood developmental outcomes and complex neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8662775","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":581657192,"identity":"d94f5f9c-2b04-4509-9dc5-e0b1f14f9531","order_by":0,"name":"Amal I. Khalil","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"King Abdullah International Medical Research Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amal","middleName":"I.","lastName":"Khalil","suffix":""},{"id":581657193,"identity":"0a3a7f99-6221-4c62-8c38-9f5a9987856f","order_by":1,"name":"Eman A. Shokr","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eman","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Shokr","suffix":""},{"id":581657194,"identity":"bf15263a-5c58-4a7a-91ea-bc4156ac669f","order_by":2,"name":"Hanady Shehata","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Menoufia University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hanady","middleName":"","lastName":"Shehata","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-21 18:24:32","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8662775/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8662775/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106498515,"identity":"c63190dd-d225-4465-a7f1-fc5e00d6b787","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-09 08:43:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":910250,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"maindocumentRevised.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8662775/v1_covered_7ef72afd-1e7f-404d-a37e-a3ad1d9c7616.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Public Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Premarital Screening and Genetic Counseling: A Mixed-Methods Study in Egypt","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"premarital screening, genetic counseling, reproductive decision-making, public attitudes, mixed methods, Egypt, misconceptions persist regarding its scope, particularly in relation to childhood developmental outcomes and complex neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs)","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8662775/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8662775/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePremarital screening and genetic counseling (PMSGC) help identify hereditary and infectious conditions before marriage. In Egypt, many people know about PMSGC, but there are still misunderstandings about what it covers, especially regarding childhood development and complex neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAim\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study looked at how much people know about PMSGC and their attitudes toward it. It also explored the social, ethical, and practical factors that affect whether Egyptian adults accept and use these services.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, 406 adults completed questionnaires assessing their knowledge and attitudes toward PMSGC. The researchers used statistical methods to examine links among background factors, knowledge, and attitudes. Then, 20 selected participants participated in interviews, and their responses were analyzed for common themes. The results from both parts were combined during the analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough most participants reported prior awareness of PMSGC (92%), detailed knowledge of most participants (92%) had heard of PMSGC, but many did not know exactly which conditions are included in the national program or what genetic testing can and cannot do. Only 41% could correctly name the screened conditions. While most people had a positive view of PMSGC, interviews showed that many saw it mainly as a required step for marriage, not as a chance for helpful counseling. Cultural beliefs, fear of stigma, worries about relationship stability, and limited access to counseling were major barriers to real engagement. Knowledge gaps and sociocultural barriers.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePMSGC should be framed as a tool for informed reproductive decision-making rather than as a means of preventing complex neurodevelopmental disorders. Genetic counselors, nurses, and primary healthcare professionals play a pivotal role in delivering culturally sensitive, non-directive counseling and in improving public understanding of the realistic benefits and limitations of premarital genetic services.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Public Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Premarital Screening and Genetic Counseling: A Mixed-Methods Study in Egypt","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-30 14:40:47","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8662775/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"df7ec0ee-62b9-4c90-b69e-05b895466b15","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 30th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-09T08:42:56+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-30 14:40:47","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8662775","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8662775","identity":"rs-8662775","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}