1. Finding a Place for Genomics in Health Disparities Research
- Author
-
Sarah Knerr, Stephanie M. Fullerton, and Wylie Burke
- Subjects
Paper ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Health Status ,Population ,Psychological intervention ,Public policy ,Benefit ,Health Services Accessibility ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Environmental health ,Health care ,Humans ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Healthcare Disparities ,education ,Genetics (clinical) ,030304 developmental biology ,0303 health sciences ,education.field_of_study ,Research policy ,Genome, Human ,business.industry ,Public health ,Infant, Newborn ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Health services research ,Genomics ,Health Status Disparities ,Bioethics ,Public relations ,Asthma ,Health equity ,3. Good health ,Drug Design ,Kidney Failure, Chronic ,Premature Birth ,Health Services Research ,Public Health ,Health disparities ,business ,Delivery of Health Care - Abstract
The existence of pronounced differences in health outcomes between US populations is a problem of moral significance and public health urgency. Pursuing research on genetic contributors to such disparities, despite striking data on the fundamental role of social factors, has been controversial. Still, advances in genomic science are providing an understanding of disease biology at a level of precision not previously possible. The potential for genomic strategies to help in addressing population-level disparities therefore needs to be carefully evaluated. Using 3 examples from current research, we argue that the best way to maximize the benefits of population-based genomic investigations, and mitigate potential harms, is to direct research away from the identification of genetic causes of disparities and instead focus on applying genomic methodologies to the development of clinical and public health tools with the potential to ameliorate healthcare inequities, direct population-level health interventions or inform public policy. Such a transformation will require close collaboration between transdisciplinary teams and community members as well as a reorientation of current research objectives to better align genomic discovery efforts with public health priorities and well-recognized barriers to fair health care delivery.
- Published
- 2012