Abstract

This project explores the feasibility of producing messages about human genetic variation that are non-discriminatory in their impact on public attitudes. Toward this end it pursues three research objectives. First, the project will employ focus groups to describe existing lay understandings of the relationships among genetics, race, and human characteristics (including disease). Second, building on the results of the focus groups, it will use a representative population survey and a message impact study to identify vocabularies and to generate sample messages for communicating about human variation in nondiscriminatory ways. Third, it will develop a reliable and appropriate measurement scale for assessing the discriminatory impact of messages about human genetic variation. The project will focus on the concerns of African Americans about discrimination and genetics and on attitudes about African Americans and genetics held by European Americans and the general population.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HG002191-02
Application #
6536476
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-GNM (01))
Program Officer
Mcewen, Jean
Project Start
2001-06-01
Project End
2004-05-31
Budget Start
2002-06-01
Budget End
2003-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$295,752
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of Georgia
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Athens
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30602

  Publications

Lynch, John; Condit, Celeste M (2006) Genes and race in the news: a test of competing theories of news coverage. Am J Health Behav 30:125-35
Lynch, John; Dubriwny, Tasha (2006) Drugs and double binds: racial identification and pharmacogenomics in a system of binary race logic. Health Commun 19:61-73
Bates, Benjamin R; Lynch, John A; Bevan, Jennifer L et al. (2005) Warranted concerns, warranted outlooks: a focus group study of public understandings of genetic research. Soc Sci Med 60:331-44
Parrott, Roxanne L; Silk, Kami J; Dillow, Megan R et al. (2005) Development and validation of tools to assess genetic discrimination and genetically based racism. J Natl Med Assoc 97:980-90
Bates, Benjamin R; Poirot, Kristan; Harris, Tina M et al. (2004) Evaluating direct-to-consumer marketing of race-based pharmacogenomics: a focus group study of public understandings of applied genomic medication. J Health Commun 9:541-59
Dubriwny, Tasha N; Bates, Benjamin R; Bevan, Jennifer L (2004) Lay understandings of race: cultural and genetic definitions. Community Genet 7:185-95
Condit, C M; Parrott, R L; Bates, B R et al. (2004) Exploration of the impact of messages about genes and race on lay attitudes. Clin Genet 66:402-8
Condit, Celeste M; Dubriwny, Tasha; Lynch, John et al. (2004) Lay people's understanding of and preference against the word ""mutation"". Am J Med Genet A 130A:245-50
Sankar, Pamela; Cho, Mildred K; Condit, Celeste M et al. (2004) Genetic research and health disparities. JAMA 291:2985-9
Bates, Benjamin R; Harris, Tina M (2004) The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis and public perceptions of biomedical research: a focus group study. J Natl Med Assoc 96:1051-64

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