Abstract
Background: Genomic medicine could improve precise risk stratification, early prevention, and personalised treatment across a broad spectrum of disease. As this reality approaches, questions on the importance of public trust arise. The success of genomic medicine initiatives is influenced by the public’s trust and willingness to engage. Specific social actors influential in the public's trust have been identified by the “Your DNA, Your Say” study, including doctors, researchers, and governments. This paper aims to identify and examine which specific social actors, if any, in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) are the most trustworthy and influential to engage the public in genomic medicine. Methods: Using data from the ‘Your DNA, Your Say’ study, logistic regression models and Pearson’s chi-square tests were conducted to explore trust in social actors across Canada and the UK. Results: The results demonstrate Canada and the UK significantly differ in public trust and willingness to donate. Non-profit researchers, domestic doctors, and personal doctors were identified to be the most influential and trustworthy social actors in Canada and the UK. Conclusions: The comparative results indicate that both countries would benefit from engaging the public through doctors and non-profit researchers. The UK could additionally support public trust by engaging with the public through the National Health Service. However, the results suggest that whilst public trust is significant, it may be neither necessary nor sufficient in influencing willingness to donate. Future research could do well to investigate how the importance of public trust compares in countries with lower public trust.
Highlights
Genomic medicine and public health The sharing of patient data, especially genomic data, across a healthcare system is pertinent for the improvement of population screening and patient care
Pooling the Canadian and United Kingdom (UK) samples, the logistic regression model in Table 1 suggests that overall trust is significantly associated with willingness to donate; the odds that an individual willing to donate to generally be trusting of social actors is 4.61 times more likely than not generally trusting (Table 1)
Comparing Canada and the UK Chi-square tests were conducted to compare how Canada and the UK differ in willingness to donate DNA and trust (Table 2)
Summary
Genomic medicine and public health The sharing of patient data, especially genomic data, across a healthcare system is pertinent for the improvement of population screening and patient care. A key public health implication of genomic medicine is population risk stratification based on genetic predisposition, allowing for earlier, more precise, and more cost-effective intervention[4] and the potential to improve population screening for a spectrum of diseases. Genomic medicine could improve precise risk stratification, early prevention, and personalised treatment across a broad spectrum of disease. As this reality approaches, questions on the importance of public trust arise. Specific social actors influential in the public's trust have been identified by the “Your DNA, Your Say” study, including doctors, researchers, and governments. This paper aims to identify and examine which specific social actors, if any, in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) are the most trustworthy and influential to engage the public in genomic medicine. Future research could do well to investigate how the importance of public trust compares in countries with lower public trust
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