Project Narrative This study would be the first to develop an initial bioethics framework to meet a critical gap in biomedical data modeling activities, where the downstream consequences of developing data models without careful and comprehensive review of ethical issues can be severe?not least because poorly developed data models have the potential to impact adversely the health of individuals, groups, and communities.
PROJECT NARRATIVE This study aims to analyze how diversity and inclusionary practices are conceptualized and operationalized by a range of stakeholders in precision medicine research in order to support the creation of policies and approaches that will achieve goals for greater inclusion of historically marginalized populations in biomedical research.
Recent progress in genomic science has been accompanied by great expectations that we are on the verge of a medical revolution where genetic knowledge of the complex interaction between multiple genes and the environmental/behavioral factors impacting their expression, will redefine illness and health, guiding risk prediction, disease diagnosis and treatment strategies. As yet, with a few notable exceptions, the promise of genetically driven diagnoses and treatment remains largely theoretical.
Rapid advances in human genetics have prompted concerns about the public's readiness to process and utilize the knowledge gained to make informed decisions about their health. To facilitate "genetic literacy," several government agencies including the Office of the Surgeon General and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have advocated for the increased use of family health history assessment. The family health history, currently underutilized in primary care, offers an ideal proxy to assess genomic risk and is the simplest applied genomic tool available.
A big data ecosystem is evolving in our society in which people may have, or feel they have, little control over the flow of their personal health information, and thus their privacy. Further, although there has been significant discussion related to big data and privacy at the highest levels of government, there is little consensus among scholars and stakeholders as to what privacy actually is, not to mention a lack of data from individuals as to personal conceptions of privacy.
Being transparent about the use of data collected during clinical care is important to establish trust relationships between patients and researchers. We propose to develop a system to elicit patient preferences for clinical data sharing that takes into account what data are going to be shared and who is going to be the recipient of shared data. Lessons learned from a pilot study indicate that providing such options in a real clinical setting does not result in massive patient withdrawal in data sharing.
The overall goal of the proposed research is to advance policy approaches to support Precision Medicine research (PMR) with American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) people through culturally respectful dialogue, empiric data collection, and deliberation with rural and urban AIAN community members and tribal representatives in Alaska and Montana.
New techniques for genomic research are being developed to take advantage of the ability to contact research participants directly, without utilizing physicians, hospitals, or biobanks. Researchers are now able to use the internet to recruit and enroll research participants in genomic studies by using an online application and consent process. Participants send their health records electronically and ship a sample of blood or saliva to the researchers.
The North Coast Conference on Precision Medicine is a national annual mid-sized conference series held in Cleveland, Ohio. The conference series aims to serve as a venue for the continuing education and exchange of scientific ideas related to the rapidly evolving and highly interdisciplinary landscape that is precision medicine research. The topics for each conference coincide with the national conversation and research agenda set by national research programs focused on precision medicine.