Carolina Valdebenito Herrera

Attitudes towards genomic: Research in four Latin American countries

The present reflection refers to data obtained about the social representations of genomic research and its applications through interviews with legislators and lawyers, biomedical researchers and civilians and the review of scientific and legal literature in four Latin American countries: Argentine, Chile, Mexico and Peru. Several issues are addressed: little access to prevention and therapeutic methods, lack of equity in health benefits, commercialization of gene sequences through patents which leads to commercial exploitation of underdeveloped countries, the possibility of physical or psychological damage or genetic discrimination, the possibility of genetic modifications or abortion for eugenic reasons, the necessity of safeguarding confidentiality, risks and benefits of the use of transgenics and cloning, the necessity of legal regulation to prevent the pathway towards genetic enhancement or reproductive human cloning and of regulating access to genetic information. Using the method of content analysis of verbal behaviour to evaluate the degree of anxiety and hostility of subjects in relation to the Human Genome Project (HGP) developed by Gottschalk and Gleser, an inverse relation between levels of anxiety and level of knowledge was observed which highlights the importance of educating the population. Differences in the level of hostility towards the HGP were also found among the groups.

O PROJETO DO GENOMA NA LITERATURA BIOMÉDICA LATINO-AMERICANA DE QUATRO PAÍSES

Resumen es: La reflexion presente se refiere a los datos obtenidos sobre representaciones sociales de la investigacion genomica y sus aplicaciones, a traves de la re...The present reflection refers to data obtained about the social representations of genomic research and its applications through the review of local literature written by biomedical researchers in four Latin American countries: Argentine, Chile, Mexico and Peru. Several issues are addressed, such as: little access to prevention and therapeutic methods related to genomic medicine in Latin America; the risk associated to genetic modifications in human beings; lack of equity in the access to health benefits; control by biotechnological companies; commercialization of gene sequences through patents which leads to commercial exploitation of underdeveloped countries; the possibility of physical or psychological damage in the way of stigmatization or genetic discrimination; the possibility of genetic modifications or abortion for eugenic reasons; the necessity of safeguarding confidentiality; the little participation of indigenous communities in the studies done on their DNA, sometimes without proper informed consent; the necessity of legal regulation to prevent the pathway towards enhancement of genetic modifications or reproductive human cloning, and of regulating access to genetic information.

The genome project in biomedical literature within four countries in latin america

Resumen es: La reflexion presente se refiere a los datos obtenidos sobre representaciones sociales de la investigacion genomica y sus aplicaciones, a traves de la re...The present reflection refers to data obtained about the social representations of genomic research and its applications through the review of local literature written by biomedical researchers in four Latin American countries: Argentine, Chile, Mexico and Peru. Several issues are addressed, such as: little access to prevention and therapeutic methods related to genomic medicine in Latin America; the risk associated to genetic modifications in human beings; lack of equity in the access to health benefits; control by biotechnological companies; commercialization of gene sequences through patents which leads to commercial exploitation of underdeveloped countries; the possibility of physical or psychological damage in the way of stigmatization or genetic discrimination; the possibility of genetic modifications or abortion for eugenic reasons; the necessity of safeguarding confidentiality; the little participation of indigenous communities in the studies done on their DNA, sometimes without proper informed consent; the necessity of legal regulation to prevent the pathway towards enhancement of genetic modifications or reproductive human cloning, and of regulating access to genetic information.

El proyecto del genoma en la literatura biomédica latinoamericana de cuatro países

Resumen es: La reflexion presente se refiere a los datos obtenidos sobre representaciones sociales de la investigacion genomica y sus aplicaciones, a traves de la re...The present reflection refers to data obtained about the social representations of genomic research and its applications through the review of local literature written by biomedical researchers in four Latin American countries: Argentine, Chile, Mexico and Peru. Several issues are addressed, such as: little access to prevention and therapeutic methods related to genomic medicine in Latin America; the risk associated to genetic modifications in human beings; lack of equity in the access to health benefits; control by biotechnological companies; commercialization of gene sequences through patents which leads to commercial exploitation of underdeveloped countries; the possibility of physical or psychological damage in the way of stigmatization or genetic discrimination; the possibility of genetic modifications or abortion for eugenic reasons; the necessity of safeguarding confidentiality; the little participation of indigenous communities in the studies done on their DNA, sometimes without proper informed consent; the necessity of legal regulation to prevent the pathway towards enhancement of genetic modifications or reproductive human cloning, and of regulating access to genetic information.