ABSTRACT
The body of knowledge in genetic healthcare is drawn from a variety of sources, including research, clinical experience, expert opinion, and tradition. As the scientific basis for genetic healthcare has grown and matured, a greater proportion of knowledge that guides practice reflects the results of systematic inquiry. One way to define research is that it is a systematic process of inquiry to validate and refine existing knowledge, and to generate new knowledge (Burns and Grove, 2001). When applied to genetic healthcare, this research focuses on situations that include genetic assessment, education, counseling, and genetic aspects of health and disease in individuals, families, populations, and communities. Much research in genetic healthcare could be considered to be clinical research, in which findings from basic research-for example, molecular genetics or behavioral sciences-are applied to clinical problems. Both the International Society of Nurses in Genetics and the Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors endorse the participation of healthcare professionals in the genetics research process (ISONG, 2004; Skirton et al., 1998). Genetics practitioners may participate in the generation of new knowledge through research in all aspects of the research process.
