Thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research.

Precision medicine research is underway to identify targeted approaches to improving health and preventing disease. However, such endeavors raise significant privacy and confidentiality concerns. The objective of this study was to elucidate the potential benefits and harms associated with precision...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Laura M Beskow, Catherine M Hammack, Kathleen M Brelsford
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6258115?pdf=render
_version_ 1811321726686986240
author Laura M Beskow
Catherine M Hammack
Kathleen M Brelsford
author_facet Laura M Beskow
Catherine M Hammack
Kathleen M Brelsford
author_sort Laura M Beskow
collection DOAJ
description Precision medicine research is underway to identify targeted approaches to improving health and preventing disease. However, such endeavors raise significant privacy and confidentiality concerns. The objective of this study was to elucidate the potential benefits and harms associated with precision medicine research through in-depth interviews with a diverse group of thought leaders, including primarily U.S.-based experts and scholars in the areas of ethics, genome research, health law, historically-disadvantaged populations, informatics, and participant-centric perspectives, as well as government officials and human subjects protections leaders. The results suggest the prospect of an array of individual and societal benefits, as well as physical, dignitary, group, economic, psychological, and legal harms. Relative to the way risks and harms are commonly described in consent forms for precision medicine research, the thought leaders we interviewed arguably emphasized a somewhat different set of issues. The return of individual research results, harm to socially-identifiable groups, the value-dependent nature of many benefits and harms, and the risks to the research enterprise itself emerged as important cross-cutting themes. Our findings highlight specific challenges that warrant concentrated care during the design, conduct, dissemination, and translation of precision medicine research and in the development of consent materials and processes.
first_indexed 2024-04-13T13:21:36Z
format Article
id doaj.art-50a107c46ea241ffb220dc2dfdf67782
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-13T13:21:36Z
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-50a107c46ea241ffb220dc2dfdf677822022-12-22T02:45:17ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-011311e020784210.1371/journal.pone.0207842Thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research.Laura M BeskowCatherine M HammackKathleen M BrelsfordPrecision medicine research is underway to identify targeted approaches to improving health and preventing disease. However, such endeavors raise significant privacy and confidentiality concerns. The objective of this study was to elucidate the potential benefits and harms associated with precision medicine research through in-depth interviews with a diverse group of thought leaders, including primarily U.S.-based experts and scholars in the areas of ethics, genome research, health law, historically-disadvantaged populations, informatics, and participant-centric perspectives, as well as government officials and human subjects protections leaders. The results suggest the prospect of an array of individual and societal benefits, as well as physical, dignitary, group, economic, psychological, and legal harms. Relative to the way risks and harms are commonly described in consent forms for precision medicine research, the thought leaders we interviewed arguably emphasized a somewhat different set of issues. The return of individual research results, harm to socially-identifiable groups, the value-dependent nature of many benefits and harms, and the risks to the research enterprise itself emerged as important cross-cutting themes. Our findings highlight specific challenges that warrant concentrated care during the design, conduct, dissemination, and translation of precision medicine research and in the development of consent materials and processes.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6258115?pdf=render
spellingShingle Laura M Beskow
Catherine M Hammack
Kathleen M Brelsford
Thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research.
PLoS ONE
title Thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research.
title_full Thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research.
title_fullStr Thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research.
title_full_unstemmed Thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research.
title_short Thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research.
title_sort thought leader perspectives on benefits and harms in precision medicine research
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6258115?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT laurambeskow thoughtleaderperspectivesonbenefitsandharmsinprecisionmedicineresearch
AT catherinemhammack thoughtleaderperspectivesonbenefitsandharmsinprecisionmedicineresearch
AT kathleenmbrelsford thoughtleaderperspectivesonbenefitsandharmsinprecisionmedicineresearch