Community Concerns Regarding Genomic Medicine. S. Hahn¹, K. Powell², S. Letvak², D. Spoon², C. Christianson², D. Wallace², S. Blanton¹, P. Lietz³, M. Pericak-Vance¹, V. Henrich² 1) Miami Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, FL; 2) The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC; 3) Moses Cone Health System, Greensboro, NC.

   The Guilford County Genomic Medicine Initiative is a demonstration project aimed at developing a model to incorporate genomic medicine into community health care. Included in this model are broad-based education programs for target populations: the community, health professionals, and patients. Community focus groups were conducted as part of the educational needs assessment. One question focused on participants concerns about the use of genetics in medicine, as these may influence their acceptance and use of genomic medicine services. Furthermore, concerns may stem from lack of complete information or misconceptions that may be addressed by focused education. 13 focus groups were conducted with a total of 121 participants. The average group size was 9, ranging from 6 to 16. Overall, the demographics approximated the ethnic and racial diversity in Guilford County. Focus group transcripts were analyzed and coded for themes. Common themes include the cost of genomic medicine to the individual and affordability to all (equity); unanticipated physical harm from the use of technology; mistrust in the government, doctors, and/or scientists; downstream effects such as overpopulation from healthier people; playing God/disturbing the natural order; need for regulations; privacy; and genetic discrimination. Concerns about one or more moral issues such as genetic engineering (e.g. cloning and stem cells), choosing traits, and abortions resulting from genetic information were also raised in almost all focus groups. In some cases, responses were grounded in personal experiences, and in many cases reflected topics in the media. Some respondents mentioned concerns about issues they did not understand or were unsure of, and some had misconceptions about the use of genetics in medicine. These data reveal perceptions that must be acknowledged in order to produce an effective education program and were used to generate questions for a community telephone survey that further examined areas of concern.