A comparison of public and professionals' attitudes towards genetic developments

Abstract

This study assesses the attitudes of the general public and of three professional groups to: genetic developments: the desired scope and availability of genetic testing in pregnancy; and decision-making about availability. Questionnaires were sent to 163 professionals and given directly to 973 members of the public by Gallup. Genetic developments were found to evoke both positive and negative feelings in all groups, but with the public being less positive overall than the professional groups. All groups endorsed the use of prenatal genetic screening and the offer of termination for serious conditions, but not for minor physical problems nor for non-disease characteristics. 54% of the general public did not want experts involved in decisions about the availability of new genetic tests, although 78% of professionals thought regulation should be by an advisory group including experts and members of the public. We need to develop ways of integrating public and professional views if the best decisions are to be made.

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