Views on personalized medicine: do the attitudes of African American and white prescription drug consumers differ?
OBJECTIVE
Although recent advances in pharmacogenomics are making possible the use of genetic testing to determine the best medication for patients, little is known about how patients view such procedures. The aims for this study that were developed collaboratively as part of a community-academic partnership are: (1) What are the attitudes and perceptions of prescription drug consumers concerning personalized medicine and genetic testing for drug compatibility and how do they differ between African American and white patients? (2) What are the attitudes and perceptions of patients concerning race-based prescribing and how do they differ between African American and white patients?


METHODS
We conducted 6 focus groups, 2 with white participants and 4 with African American participants. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to ascertain common themes.


RESULTS
Our results suggest that personalized medicine and genetic testing, though not well understood by lay persons, were considered positive advances in medicine. However, participants also voiced concerns about these advances that differed by race.


CONCLUSIONS
This study points to the need to include perspectives of at-risk communities as we move toward wider use of this technology.
Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
M
M
De Marco
S
S
Cykert
N
N
Coad
K
K
Doost
J
J
Schaal
B
B
White
D
D
Young
M R
MR
Isler
G
G
Corbie-Smith
D001290:Attitude; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D017144:Focus Groups; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D057285:Precision Medicine; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American
D055553:Prescription Drugs