The Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program — a research effort supported by the National Institutes of Health aimed at enrolling 1 million or more participants — is widely supported by the public, according to a recent survey published in PLOS ONE.
The NIH's precision medicine research aims to create a national resource of detailed patient data regarding the influence of lifestyle, living environment and genetics on personal health. Such a database will facilitate the creation of healthcare treatments that can be tailored to the individual.
Of the 2,601 individuals who provided valid responses to the survey, 79 percent supported the study and 54 percent said they would definitely or probably agree to participate if requested to do so. Support levels remained consistent when assessed across both racial and other demographic categories. Willingness-to-participate levels did vary. Younger people, those with college educations and those who identified as a part of the LGBT community, expressed more willingness to participate in the study. Those over 60 and those with lower levels of education were less willing.
"These survey results suggest that people from all walks of life will be interested in the cohort program," said Dave Kaufman, PhD, lead author and a program director at NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute. "But it may take some more thought and effort to engage older people and those with fewer years of education. These results were helpful in identifying areas where the PMI Cohort Program may want to focus outreach efforts, beyond the communities that have been historically underrepresented in research."
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