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Lay understanding of genetic disease: a British study of families attending a genetic counseling service

Lay understanding of genetic disease: a British study of families attending a genetic counseling service
Lay understanding of genetic disease: a British study of families attending a genetic counseling service
Although lay people know that various diseases can be inherited, the idea that unhealthy life styles are the crucial cause of ill health has been promoted by health education policy in the United Kingdom. However, a new paradigm seems to be developing. The medical profession is increasingly using genetics to explain ill health, and people are being referred to geneticists for information and counseling. Lay conceptions of genetic disease emerged during this qualitative study of the process of genetic counseling. The results reported in this paper suggest that many lay people lack knowledge of genetics and inheritance, and that there is considerable stigma attached to genetic disease. Misconceptions and fears may not always be recognized or resolved during the process of genetic counseling. The implications of such misunderstandings and beliefs are considered in this paper.
lay understanding, genetic counseling, stigma
1059-7700
281-300
Chapple, Alison
00321aef-923f-493c-855c-2e5dd72e95b3
May, Carl
17697f8d-98f6-40d3-9cc0-022f04009ae4
Campion, Peter
0d45f849-62df-4a3e-a3e3-1da1c837bb96
Chapple, Alison
00321aef-923f-493c-855c-2e5dd72e95b3
May, Carl
17697f8d-98f6-40d3-9cc0-022f04009ae4
Campion, Peter
0d45f849-62df-4a3e-a3e3-1da1c837bb96

Chapple, Alison, May, Carl and Campion, Peter (1995) Lay understanding of genetic disease: a British study of families attending a genetic counseling service. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 4 (4), 281-300. (doi:10.1007/BF01408074).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Although lay people know that various diseases can be inherited, the idea that unhealthy life styles are the crucial cause of ill health has been promoted by health education policy in the United Kingdom. However, a new paradigm seems to be developing. The medical profession is increasingly using genetics to explain ill health, and people are being referred to geneticists for information and counseling. Lay conceptions of genetic disease emerged during this qualitative study of the process of genetic counseling. The results reported in this paper suggest that many lay people lack knowledge of genetics and inheritance, and that there is considerable stigma attached to genetic disease. Misconceptions and fears may not always be recognized or resolved during the process of genetic counseling. The implications of such misunderstandings and beliefs are considered in this paper.

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More information

Published date: 1995
Keywords: lay understanding, genetic counseling, stigma

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 163365
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/163365
ISSN: 1059-7700
PURE UUID: 3d69b773-4a00-4e21-83e5-7b7954422d18
ORCID for Carl May: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0451-2690

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Date deposited: 17 Sep 2010 15:05
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:04

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Contributors

Author: Alison Chapple
Author: Carl May ORCID iD
Author: Peter Campion

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