scholarly journals Direct-to-consumer genetic testing in the college classroom: Knowledge, attitudes, and concerns of introductory biology students

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicanor Austriaco
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Genetic Counselor ◽  
College Classroom ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Direct To Consumer ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Medical Health Care ◽  
Enhance Student Learning

Pioneered by companies like 23andMe.com, deCODEme.com, and Navigenics.com, direct-to-consumer genetic testing refers to genetic tests that are marketed directly to consumers via television, print media, or the Internet. This kind of testing provides access to a customer’s genetic information without necessarily involving either a medical health care professional or a genetic counselor in the process. In recent years, a course offered to medical and graduate students at Stanford University has included an option for students to undergo personal genotyping, raising the possibility that direct-to-consumer genetic testing could also be incorporated into undergraduate biology courses to enhance student learning. In this study, I assess the attitudes and concerns of college students enrolled in the first semester of an introductory majors course in biology, before and after they had completed the course, regarding the availability of this technology and its possible use in the college classroom. The pre-course survey revealed that these students were open to the possibility of using this technology in their courses, but that they had concerns about the confidentiality and the accuracy of their genetic results. Strikingly, however, completing the genetics, molecular and cellular biology semester-long portion of the yearlong introductory sequence in biology appeared to boost student confidence in this technology and its use in the undergraduate classroom.

scholarly journals Direct-to-consumer genetic testing in the college classroom: Knowledge, attitudes, and concerns of introductory biology students

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicanor Austriaco
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Genetic Counselor ◽  
College Classroom ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Direct To Consumer ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Medical Health Care ◽  
Enhance Student Learning

Pioneered by companies like 23andMe.com, deCODEme.com, and Navigenics.com, direct-to-consumer genetic testing refers to genetic tests that are marketed directly to consumers via television, print media, or the Internet. This kind of testing provides access to a customer’s genetic information without necessarily involving either a medical health care professional or a genetic counselor in the process. In recent years, a course offered to medical and graduate students at Stanford University has included an option for students to undergo personal genotyping, raising the possibility that direct-to-consumer genetic testing could also be incorporated into undergraduate biology courses to enhance student learning. In this study, I assess the attitudes and concerns of college students enrolled in the first semester of an introductory majors course in biology, before and after they had completed the course, regarding the availability of this technology and its possible use in the college classroom. The pre-course survey revealed that these students were open to the possibility of using this technology in their courses, but that they had concerns about the confidentiality and the accuracy of their genetic results. Strikingly, however, completing the genetics, molecular and cellular biology semester-long portion of the yearlong introductory sequence in biology appeared to boost student confidence in this technology and its use in the undergraduate classroom.

scholarly journals Bioconstitutional Imaginaries and the Comparative Politics of Genetic Self-knowledge

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1087-1118
Author(s):  
J. Benjamin Hurlbut ◽  
Ingrid Metzler ◽  
Luca Marelli ◽  
Sheila Jasanoff
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Direct To Consumer ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Self Knowledge

Genetic testing has become a vehicle through which basic constitutional relationships between citizens and the state are revisited, reaffirmed, or rearticulated. The interplay between the is of genetic knowledge and the ought of government unfolds in the context of diverse imaginaries of the forms of human well-being, freedom, and flourishing that states have a duty to support. This article examines how the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States governed testing for Alzheimer’s disease, and how they diverged in defining potential harms, benefits, and objects of regulation. Comparison before and after the arrival of direct-to-consumer genetic tests reveals differences in national understandings of what it means to protect life and citizenship: in the United Kingdom, ensuring physical wellness through clinical utility; in the United States, protecting both citizens’ physical well-being and freedom to choose through a framework of consumer protection; and in Germany, emphasizing individual flourishing and an unburdened sense of human development that is expressed in genetic testing law and policy as a commitment to the stewardship of personhood. Operating with their own visions of what it means to protect life and citizenship, these three states arrived at settlements that coproduced substantially different bioconstitutional regimes around Alzheimer’s testing.

Genetic counselor approaches to BRCA1/2 direct‐to‐consumer genetic testing results

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Burke ◽  
Maureen Mork ◽  
Krista Qualmann ◽  
Ashley Woodson ◽  
Min Jin Ha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Genetic Counselor ◽  
Direct To Consumer

Impact of Payer Constraints on Access to Genetic Testing

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. e47-e56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pat Whitworth ◽  
Peter Beitsch ◽  
Christopher Arnell ◽  
Hannah C. Cox ◽  
Krystal Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
National Comprehensive Cancer Network ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Genetic Counselor ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
National Health Care ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Cancer Network

Background: With increased demand for hereditary cancer genetic testing, some large national health-care insurance payers (LNHPs) have implemented policies to minimize inappropriate testing by mandating consultation with a geneticist or genetic counselor (GC). We hypothesized such a restriction would reduce access and appropriate testing. Methods: Test cancellation rates (ie, tests ordered that did not result in a reported test result), mutation-positive rates, and turnaround times for comprehensive BRCA1/2 testing for a study LNHP that implemented a GC-mandate policy were determined over the 12 months before and after policy implementation (excluding a 4-month transition period). Cancellation rates were evaluated based on the reason for cancellation, National Comprehensive Cancer Network testing criteria, and self-identified ancestry. A control LNHP was evaluated over the same period for comparison. Results: The study LNHP cancellation rate increased from 13.3% to 42.1% ( P < .001) after policy implementation. This increase was also observed when only individuals who met National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer testing were considered (9.5% to 37.7%; P < .001). Cancellation rates increased after policy introduction for all ancestries; however, this was more pronounced among individuals of African or Latin American ancestry, for whom cancellation rates rose to 48.9% and 49.6%, respectively, compared with 33.9% for individuals of European ancestry. Over this same time period, control LNHP cancellation rates decreased or stayed the same for all subgroups. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that a GC-mandate policy implemented by a LNHP substantially decreased access to appropriate genetic testing, disproportionately impacting minority populations without any evidence that inappropriate testing was decreased.

scholarly journals Exploring the MACH Model’s Potential as a Metacognitive Tool to Help Undergraduate Students Monitor Their Explanations of Biological Mechanisms

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. ar12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb M. Trujillo ◽  
Trevor R. Anderson ◽  
Nancy J. Pelaez
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
Educational Tool ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Written Explanations

When undergraduate biology students learn to explain biological mechanisms, they face many challenges and may overestimate their understanding of living systems. Previously, we developed the MACH model of four components used by expert biologists to explain mechanisms: Methods, Analogies, Context, and How. This study explores the implementation of the model in an undergraduate biology classroom as an educational tool to address some of the known challenges. To find out how well students’ written explanations represent components of the MACH model before and after they were taught about it and why students think the MACH model was useful, we conducted an exploratory multiple case study with four interview participants. We characterize how two students explained biological mechanisms before and after a teaching intervention that used the MACH components. Inductive analysis of written explanations and interviews showed that MACH acted as an effective metacognitive tool for all four students by helping them to monitor their understanding, communicate explanations, and identify explanatory gaps. Further research, though, is needed to more fully substantiate the general usefulness of MACH for promoting students’ metacognition about their understanding of biological mechanisms.

Being Aware of Your Thinking: Examining Mindfulness and Metacognition in Undergraduate Biology Students

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikah J. Pritchard ◽  
Trisha A. Turner ◽  
Ellen L. Usher ◽  
Faith L. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students

scholarly journals What are the factors influencing the aversion of students towards reptiles?

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moacyr Xavier Gomes da Silva ◽  
Franciany Braga-Pereira ◽  
Mikaela Clotilde da Silva ◽  
José Valberto de Oliveira ◽  
Sérgio de Faria Lopes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Society ◽  
Mathematics Students ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
University Mathematics ◽  
Reptile Species ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Paraphyletic Group ◽  
Behavioural Factors ◽  
The University

Abstract Background Reptiles form a paraphyletic group with significant roles for human society, including species that are considered important for food, medicinal and mystical use and as pets. Some species are considered to be aversive, whereas others are captivating among people. Aversion is an important factor which should be considered in the conservation policies of these animals. As such, here, we investigate the demographic, educational, perceptives and behavioural factors of students related to their aversion and non-conservationist attitudes directed towards different reptile species and evaluated the effect of educational exhibition of animals as a strategy of mitigating these attitudes. Methods The data were obtained through forms on the aversion and conservation of reptiles represented by three species, a chelonian, a snake and a lizard. The form was given in two instances, before and after a visit to a private zoo (Museu Vivo Répteis da Caatinga), where the students had contact with the aforementioned species. A total of 133 students participated in the study, among these, 43 from elementary school (21 females and 22 males), 29 from high school (16 females and 13 males), 37 from university biology students (22 females and 15 males) and 24 university mathematics students (6 females and 18 males). Results Among all evaluated species, snakes were considered to be the most aversive species. The aversion attitudes differed between the three evaluated species when correlated to age and type of university courses. However, this pattern did not differ between student sexes. Older students had a lower aversion to the chelonian compared to the younger ones, but for snakes and lizards, the aversion was high among students of all ages. The university biology students had a lower aversion compared to the university mathematics students for the three species. The recognition and handle of the tested species and previous visits to educational exhibitions of animals were negatively related to aversion. The comparative analysis of the forms applied before and after the visit to the Museu Vivo Répteis da Caatinga showed that this visit influenced the decrease of aversion, but not in non-conservationist attitudes, for which the attitude scores had always been low. Conclusions We conclude that reptile aversion varies in accordance with the taxon, being snakes the most disliked by students. The visit to the educational exhibition of animals contributed to the reduction of the observed aversion. This is especially true when the acquisition of educational information about species is associated with practical activities which includes contact with the animals. Finally, the fact that non-conservationist attitudes had been low towards all species perhaps demonstrates a conservationist tendency even for the most aversive species.

Experiences of individuals receiving “Not Parent Expected” (NPE) results through direct-to-consumer genetic testing

2021 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. S289
Author(s):  
Julia Becker ◽  
Janey Youngblom ◽  
Brianne Kirkpatrick ◽  
Liane Abrams
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Direct To Consumer
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