Eulalia Pérez Sedeño

Percepción social de la biomedicina en España

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There is increasing concern that studies of public understanding of science, especially biomedicine, should be expected to bring shared frameworks to European and national policies. The present article aims to provide a critical overview of the most recent studies of public understanding of biomedicine in Spain. Specifically, this essay reviews the similarities and differences in the latest European and Spanish surveys. MATERIAL AND METHOD Throughout this article we compare the Third National Survey of Social Perception of Science and Technology produced by the Spanish National Science and Technology Foundation, focusing on issues related to biomedicine, and the Medical and Health Research. A special Eurobarometer Public Survey published by the European Commission. RESULTS The two surveys were compared attending to the three main common items of science, technology and biomedicine: the level of interest, the level of information and political attitudes. Some discrepancies in the results of the two studies, such as public interest in these subjects, may partly be due to the different methodologies used in the survey designs. CONCLUSIONS Further national studies exploring public understanding of science, technology and biomedicine at the national level, as well as the use of European standards, would be of great help in other cross-national studies and policies. Improving qualitative studies would also be useful to strengthen relations among science, technology and society.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There is increasing concern that studies of public understanding of science, especially biomedicine, should be expected to bring shared frameworks to European and national policies. The present article aims to provide a critical overview of the most recent studies of public understanding of biomedicine in Spain. Specifically, this essay reviews the similarities and differences in the latest European and Spanish surveys. MATERIAL AND METHOD Throughout this article we compare the Third National Survey of Social Perception of Science and Technology produced by the Spanish National Science and Technology Foundation, focusing on issues related to biomedicine, and the Medical and Health Research. A special Eurobarometer Public Survey published by the European Commission. RESULTS The two surveys were compared attending to the three main common items of science, technology and biomedicine: the level of interest, the level of information and political attitudes. Some discrepancies in the results of the two studies, such as public interest in these subjects, may partly be due to the different methodologies used in the survey designs. CONCLUSIONS Further national studies exploring public understanding of science, technology and biomedicine at the national level, as well as the use of European standards, would be of great help in other cross-national studies and policies. Improving qualitative studies would also be useful to strengthen relations among science, technology and society.Fundamento y objetivos Dado el cada vez mas destacado interes de los estudios de percepcion publica de la ciencia, en concreto de la biomedicina, en elaborar marcos de referencia comunes a las politicas europeas y nacionales, este articulo pretende aportar una panoramica de los ultimos estudios de percepcion de la biomedicina en Espana. En concreto, revisamos las ultimas encuestas realizadas a nivel nacional y europeo y que niveles de convergencia o divergencias presentan. Material y metodo Exploramos comparativamente la Tercera Encuesta Nacional sobre Percepcion Social de la Ciencia y la Tecnologia realizada por la FECYT , atendiendo especialmente aquellas secciones donde se plantean cuestiones biomedicas, con el Eurobarometro de Investigacion medica y salud publicado por la Comision Europea. Resultados Los tres ejes en torno a los cuales se ha podido realizar el analisis comparativo en ambas encuestas son: nivel de interes, nivel de informacion y actitudes en torno a politicas de ciencia, tecnologia y biomedicina. La divergencia en algunos resultados, como el grado de interes de la ciudadania por estos temas, depende en parte de las diferentes metodologias empleadas en el diseno de las encuestas. Conclusiones Por ello, se demanda tanto la realizacion de mas estudios a nivel nacional especificos o sectoriales de biomedicina, como la utilizacion de indicadores estandarizados a nivel europeo. Tambien, se hace necesaria la realizacion de analisis cualitativos que permitan reforzar las relaciones ciencia, tecnologia y sociedad.

Practices and Knowledge: Philosophy of Biomedicine, Governance and Citizen Participation

The present chapter addresses the emergence of new forms of governance and citizen participation in the context of certain biotechnologies. On the basis of three case studies, we have mapped different models of public participation in health issues (especially health activism and Internet users, though not exclusively): identifying and analyzing actors, their mutual relationships (mainly those between “patients”/activists groups and the biomedical community), strategies and forms of participation, the exchange and circulation of “expert/lay” knowledge (and the role of the Internet in these processes), and the different activities and forms of knowledge production by “lay” citizen groups (or individuals). We draw special attention to the epistemic challenge resulting from these mixed forms of knowledge production derived from “experiential expertise”, “epistemic communities” and “evidence-based activism”. We detect “epistemic correctives”, demands regarding “undone science”, and hidden innovations in these types of citizen participation.

Cuerpos y prácticas: una década de estudios CTG

En este trabajo presentamos algunas investigaciones realizadas en el area de estudios sociales de la ciencia bajo el enfoque denominado Ciencia, Tecnologia y Genero (CTG). La interseccion de los estudios sociales de la ciencia con la teoria feminista y los estudios de genero ha dado lugar a este campo de estudio interdisciplinar. En el Estado espanol, se han llevado a cabo multiples trabajos en esta linea, de los que exponemos algunos de los realizados por nuestro grupo de investigacion al menos en los ultimos diez anos. Se centran en estudios de caso, que implican diferentes tecnologias biomedicas, y en los que los cuerpos juegan un papel fundamental estableciendo alianzas, resistencias o cuestionando los marcos normativos en los que cuerpos y tecnologias se hayan inmersos.

Crossings on Public Perception of Biomedicine: Spain and the European Indicators

In recent years, there has been an increasing advance in various disciplines such as genetics, biotechnology or information technology. There is almost unanimous agreement that the generation and application of scientific and technological knowledge is playing a key role in the improvement of quality of life in society, productive modernization, and the insertion of some countries on the global stage. However, these rapid changes are also having serious effects, leading to discussions about their current or future use and their social, ethical implications. To date, these changes have also modified our environment.