The number of certified genetic counselors (CGCs) in the genetic counseling workforce has increased over the past few decades as the number of training programs increases and CGCs expand into new patient‐facing and non‐patient‐facing roles. Few studies have explored the distribution of CGCs across the United States. We sought to identify the U.S. geographical regions with the highest number of CGCs and those regions where the physical presence of CGCs is sparser. Deidentified city, state, and ZIP code information for each CGC in the United States were obtained from the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) database. A countrywide analysis of the distribution of CGCs was completed using geographic information system (GIS) mapping software. The data were organized into U.S. metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas, if applicable, and analyzed by CGC per capita. We included a total of 4,554 data points (92.2%) in the analysis. Results showed there is one CGC for every 71,842 people nationwide. Of 3,141 total counties (or county equivalents) in the United States, 535 counties had at least one CGC (17.0%). The majority (98.7%) of CGCs live or work within metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), which are defined by this study as geographical areas with greater than 50,000 people. Of the MSAs with a CGC, approximately half have more than one CGC per 100,000 people. These results are consistent with the overall distribution of the U.S. population. We believe that the MSAs with the most CGCs per capita are due to associations with specific institutions, that is, genetic counseling training programs, health system headquarters, or genetic laboratories. Although the present study cannot draw definite conclusions regarding direct patient care services provided by CGCs, it does provide a snapshot of current CGC distribution within the country. Knowing the distribution of CGCs provides a tool to conduct further workforce analyses to determine the number of CGCs needed to serve the U.S. population.

中文翻译：

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美国认证遗传咨询师分布地域分析

在过去的几十年中，随着培训项目数量的增加以及 CGC 扩展到新的面向患者和非面向患者的角色，遗传咨询队伍中认证遗传咨询师 (CGC) 的数量有所增加。很少有研究探讨 CGC 在美国的分布。我们试图确定 CGC 数量最多的美国地理区域和那些 CGC 实际存在较少的地区。美国每个 CGC 的去标识化城市、州和邮政编码信息是从美国遗传咨询委员会 (ABGC) 数据库中获得的。使用地理信息系统 (GIS) 绘图软件完成了对 CGC 分布的全国分析。如果适用，数据被组织成美国大都市或小都市统计区域，并按人均 CGC 进行分析。我们在分析中总共包含了 4,554 个数据点 (92.2%)。结果显示，全国每 71,842 人就有一个 CGC。在美国总共 3,141 个县（或县等价物）中，535 个县至少有一个 CGC (17.0%)。大多数 (98.7%) 的 CGC 在大都市统计区 (MSA) 内生活或工作，本研究将其定义为人口超过 50,000 的地理区域。在拥有 CGC 的 MSA 中，大约一半的人每 100,000 人拥有一个以上的 CGC。这些结果与美国人口的总体分布是一致的。我们认为，人均 CGC 最多的 MSA 是由于与特定机构的关联，即遗传咨询培训计划、卫生系统总部或遗传实验室。尽管本研究无法就 CGC 提供的直接患者护理服务得出明确的结论，但它确实提供了当前 CGC 在该国的分布情况。了解 CGC 的分布提供了一种工具，可以进行进一步的劳动力分析，以确定为美国人口提供服务所需的 CGC 数量。