Almeling Rene, Gadarian Shana Kushner
Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Department of Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA.
Genet Med. 2014 Jun;16(6):491-4. doi: 10.1038/gim.2013.175. Epub 2013 Nov 7.
The aim of this study was to examine public opinion on major policy issues in genetics and genomics, including federal spending on genetic research, the perceived significance of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, and whether clinicians should be involved in direct-to-consumer genetic testing.
This was a survey with a nationally representative sample of 2,100 American adults administered by the nonpartisan research firm YouGov in January 2011.
The majority of the respondents (57%) believe that the federal government should spend more on genetic research, 82% rank the 2008 antidiscrimination law as "important," and 65% say that clinicians should be involved in explaining genetic test results (contra the practice of some direct-to-consumer companies). On all three policy issues, gender and political party affiliation were statistically significantly associated with respondents' views, whereas race/ethnicity and education were less consistently associated with policy opinions.
Americans demonstrate widespread support for scientific research on genetics, laws protecting citizens against genetic discrimination, and the need to involve medical professionals in the process of genetic testing. These results are useful for scientists designing research projects, clinicians interacting with patients, professional organizations lobbying for resources, federal agencies setting budget priorities, and legislators designing regulation.
本研究旨在调查公众对遗传学和基因组学重大政策问题的看法，包括联邦政府在基因研究上的支出、2008年《基因信息非歧视法案》的感知重要性，以及临床医生是否应参与直接面向消费者的基因检测。
这是一项由无党派研究公司舆观（YouGov）于2011年1月对2100名美国成年人进行的全国代表性抽样调查。
大多数受访者（57%）认为联邦政府应增加基因研究支出，82%的人将2008年的反歧视法列为“重要”，65%的人表示临床医生应参与解释基因检测结果（与一些直接面向消费者的公司的做法相反）。在所有这三个政策问题上，性别和政党归属与受访者的观点在统计学上有显著关联，而种族/族裔和教育程度与政策意见的关联则不太一致。
美国人普遍支持基因科学研究、保护公民免受基因歧视的法律，以及医疗专业人员参与基因检测过程的必要性。这些结果对设计研究项目的科学家、与患者互动的临床医生、争取资源的专业组织、确定预算优先事项的联邦机构以及制定法规的立法者都很有用。
