Relevance of Health Literacy to Precision Medicine Proceedings of a Workshop (2016) / Chapter Skim
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2 Genetic Literacy
2 Genetic Literacy
Pages 5-10
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From page 5... ...
Variation is the rule in the living world, not the exception, and this fact is a fundamental concept that McInerney believes all people should understand -- if for no other reason than to foster a greater respect for and understanding of variation in their own community. Genetics, he continued, also explains biologi 1 This section is based on the presentation by Joseph McInerney, executive vice president of the American Society of Human Genetics, and the statements have not been endorsed or verified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
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From page 6... ...
With regard to the second reason to understand genetics -- to understand the future of health care -- McInerney's view is that the United States is moving to a prevention-based health care system that will be informed increasingly by genetic perspectives. This is where genetic literacy and precision medicine intersect.
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From page 7... ...
As an example of the type of genetic competencies health care professionals should have, McInerney listed the categories of knowledge recommended for physician assistants. They should understand basic human genetics terminology and be able to identify patients with or at risk of a genetic condition.
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From page 8... ...
With regard to the first question, McInerney said he struggles to determine how much health professionals need to know to be effective. "Educational content can be accurate, but not necessarily complete in the way that a genetics professional would want to see it or understand it," he said, "and while it is not necessary to turn health care professionals into geneticists, they do need enough information to work effectively in a genetics context in their own clinics." Concerning the last of these three questions, McInerney noted it is often asked too late in the development of most educational programs.
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From page 9... ...
"We have to be careful about how we couch these concepts for providers and for the public," he said, "for while it might be great to tell the public that the goal is to personalize their health care, clinicians think they are already doing this." He added that he believes it is unimportant for either health care professionals or the public to understand the distinction between genetics and genomics. McInerney also distinguished between science, which proposes explanations for observations of natural phenomena, and technology, which proposes solutions to problems of human adaption to the environment (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study and Social Science Education Consortium, 1992)
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From page 10... ...
He cited creationism and invoking an intelligent designer as an explanation for the way life is organized on the planet as examples. The most important aspect of science literacy for the public, McInerney said, is the idea that science is a way of understanding and explaining the natural world and how that is different from other types of explanations.
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