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African Americans' opinions about human-genetics research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Paul Achter ,
Roxanne Parrott  and
Kami Silk
Paul Achter
Affiliation:
Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies, 402 D Weinstein Hall, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173 [email protected]
Roxanne Parrott
Affiliation:
Communication Arts & Sciences, 206 Sparks Building, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 [email protected]
Kami Silk
Affiliation:
566 Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 [email protected]
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Abstract

Background.

Research on attitudes toward genetics and medicine registers skepticism among minority communities, but the reasons for this skepticism are not well known. In the past, studies linked mistrust of the medical system to historical ethics violations involving minority groups and to suspicions about ideological premise and political intent.

Methods.

To assess public knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding human-genetics research, we surveyed 858 Americans onsite in four community settings or online in a geographically nonspecific manner.

Results.

Compared to participants as a whole, African Americans were significantly more likely to believe that clinical trials might be dangerous and that the federal government knowingly conducted unethical research, including studies in which risky vaccines were administered to prison populations. However, African Americans were also significantly more likely to believe that the federal government worked to prevent environmental exposure to toxicants harmful to people with genetic vulnerabilities.

Conclusions.

Our data suggest that most Americans trust government to act ethically in sponsoring and conducting research, including genetics research, but that African Americans are particularly likely to see government as powerfully protective in some settings yet selectively disingenuous in others.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , March 2004 , pp. 60 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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