Assessing genetic and genomic literacy concepts among Albanian nursing and midwifery students: a cross-sectional study

Purpose: This study aimed to adapt and validate the Albanian version of the Genomic Nursing Concept Inventory and to assess the level of genomic literacy among nursing and midwifery students. Methods: Data were collected via a monocentric online cross-sectional study using the Albanian version of the Genomic Nursing Concept Inventory. Participants included first-, second-, and third-year nursing and midwifery students. Demographic data such as age, sex, year level, and prior exposure to genetics were collected. The Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, and chi-square tests were used to compare demographic characteristics and GNCI scores between groups. Results: Among the 715 participants, most were female (88.5%) with a median age of 19 years. Most respondents (65%) had not taken a genetics course, and 83.5% had not attended any related training. The mean score was 7.49, corresponding to a scale difficulty of 24.38% correct responses. Conclusion: The findings reveal a low foundational knowledge of genetics/genomics among future nurses and midwives. It is essential to enhance learning strategies and update curricula to prepare a competent healthcare workforce in precision health.