180060 A Genetics Stigma: Exploring the Potential Stigmatizing Effect of Our Genotypes

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 12:54 PM

Jocelyn I. Landau, MA, BA , Doctoral Candidate, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
The association of genetics, disease, and race has captured the attention of researchers and public health practitioners. As new discoveries on genetic risk factors and genetic traits continue to occur, there is growing concern over the social and ethical implications of these advances. This paper examines one ethical area of concern—-the potential for public health campaigns to inadvertently stigmatize individuals and groups based on their genomes. Undoubtedly, some people with certain genetic conditions are stigmatized, but a lack of research has examined why genetics in itself, as the identified cause of a condition, should exacerbate stigma or uniformly confer stigma to people diagnosed with a genetic condition or a predisposition to one (Sankar et al., 2006). At the same time, the potential stigma of being ‘labeled' as carriers of a disease or trait gene is likely to have enormous consequences for family, work, and personal environments (Serretti and Artioli, 2006). Despite the potentially consequential nature of genetic stigmatization, surprisingly few studies have directly investigated stigma in association with genetics. Given the lack of research on genetics as a stigma, this paper draws on several bodies of literature, including race-based medicine, genetic discrimination, and stigmatization, to assess the potential stigmatizing effects of the human genome. In particular, the paper focuses on the ways in which messages about genetics may unintentionally increase social inequality and exacerbate health disparities among minority groups. Based on a review of the literature, the paper also presents several empirical questions for future research in this area.

Learning Objectives:
The learning objectives of this paper are to assess the potential stigmatizing effect of genetics and genetic testing. The paper develops the idea of genetic stigmatization and examines findings from several bodies of research. The paper identifies important ethical and social considerations associated with public health campaigns that link genetic risks with race, and proposes new directions for future research in this area.

Keywords: Genetics, Minority Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral candidate and the sole author on this paper.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.