scholarly journals From symptomatic to pre-symptomatic patient: the tide of personal genomics

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (03) ◽  
pp. C03
Author(s):  
Marina Levina ◽  
Roswell Quinn

Personal Genomics Companies are an emerging form of biotechnology startup that bring rapidly advancing whole genome technologies to a variety of commercial venues. With a combination of direct-to-consumer marketing, social media, and Web 2.0 applications these companies seek to create novel uses, including entertainment, for what is described as predictive medicine – that is the use of genetic marketers to create health forecasts that would allow individual’s healthcare to be tailored to their individual genomic data. In this brief piece, the authors use a critical cultural approach to question how this combination of genomics research, marketing, and communications technologies may alter both patient experiences and research processes. In it we argue these companies radically expand the definition of a patient by claiming all consumers are simply pre-symptomatic patients. Moreover, by placing genomic data on both the marketplace and cyberspace, personal genomic companies seek to create new avenues of research that alter how we define (and access) research agendas and human subjects. Therefore, beyond commonly discussed issues of ethics and privacy rights, Personal Genomics has the potential to alter both healthcare priorities and distribution.

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Salari ◽  
A Dahlberg ◽  
A Sarkadi ◽  
K Fängström

Abstract Low participation in evidence-based parenting programs not only presents a major challenge for population trials where a minimum level of intervention exposure is necessary to detect population-level impact, but also undermines the incorporation of these programs into routine practice settings. As part of a large population trial, we aimed to increase participation in a series of parenting seminars by using a simple direct-to-consumer marketing strategy, i.e., redesigning the program flyer. We captured parents' attention by affirming that “parenting is not always easy”, highlighted the potential benefits of participation, clarified what participation entailed, and addressed some of the common barriers such as the stigma associated with participation in parenting programs. Because fathers and mothers were shown to have different needs, we tailored the flyers to mothers and fathers separately. Testing the flyers on a small sample of parents showed that both mothers and fathers perceived the flyers as relevant. As expected, mothers were more likely to express interest in the program when they saw the flyer which focused on benefits related to dealing with child behavioural problems and featured a mother-child dyad, while fathers preferred the flyer which highlighted the benefits related to dealing with emotional problems, and featured a father-child dyad. Next, following the same procedure that was used to deliver the original flyers over the first 18 months of the project, we used the new flyers to inform parents about the upcoming seminars over the next 24 months. The preliminary results showed that although the average number of parents participating in each seminar had initially decreased from about seven to four, after the introduction of the new flyers, the number increased consistently and reached an average of nine parents during the last 6-month period. The results shows that program uptake can be increased using simple direct-to-consumer marketing strategies.


Author(s):  
Chad D. Meyerhoefer ◽  
Samuel H Zuvekas

Abstract Much of the debate surrounding Direct-to-Consumer Advertising (DTCA) of pharmaceuticals centers on whether DTCA conveys useful information to consumers or indiscriminately increases requests for the advertised medication. By identifying how DTCA changes the shape of the demand curve for antidepressants, we seek to infer the promotional objectives of manufacturers. Using data from the 1996-2003 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), we find that advertising shifts the demand curve for antidepressants outward and rotates it counter-clockwise. DTCA increases the probability that an individual will initiate use of antidepressants, particularly when out-of-pocket medication costs are low, but does not necessarily increase utilization levels among those already taking antidepressants. This is consistent with a promotional campaign that seeks to alert consumers to the product's existence, but conveys no real information that would allow them to learn their true match with the product.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (514) ◽  
pp. 220-230
Author(s):  
O. M. Iastremska ◽  
◽  
O. О. Iastremska ◽  

The article is concerned with the issues of determining and evaluating the economic sustainability of enterprise. The publication analyzes the views of scholars on the definition of «economic sustainability of enterprise». A closer definition of this concept is proposed, according to which under the economic sustainability of enterprise it is advisable to understand its complex ability to respond to and withstand the influence of negative relevant factors of the external and internal environment, while maintaining its internal structure, dynamics of operation, which contributes to the achievement of the main goals of functioning and development of enterprises. The main components of economic sustainability of enterprise are allocated, including: financial, industrial, personnel, organizational, marketing, social, environmental, investment, innovation. The main stages of the process of ensuring economic sustainability of enterprise are proposed, the basis of implementing which is the principles of unity – interconnectedness and subordination of all components of sustainability; complexity, which involves taking into account relevant factors of influence; continuity – implementation of the regulatory process on the basis of permanence and sustainability; adequacy, i.e. compliance of the system with patterns of enterprise development. The proposed components and stages of ensuring and determining the economic sustainability of enterprise are used as the basis of the developed methodical approach concerning its quantitative assessment, which is built up using methods of multidimensional factor, cluster analysis, additive convolution method for calculating the integral indicator of economic sustainability of enterprises. The developed methodical approach was tested on the statistical data of nine machine-building enterprises of Kharkiv region, which proved its applied value and possibility of further use.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-528
Author(s):  
Gloria M. Petersen ◽  
Brian Van Ness

Given the nature of scientific inquiry, biomedical and genomic researchers have forged innumerable ways to advance our understanding of human disease. In many cases, research requires the involvement of human subjects, and in a subset of these studies, the researcher may collect data and biospecimens from many participants, and even serially collect additional materials over time and across a number of geographically dispersed centers. The organized data and biospecimens are collectively known as research biobanks. Researchers have an obligation to disseminate findings from their research through publications and presentations to other professionals, and when possible, to the public. Sharing genomic data is increasingly being mandated; access to data can be obtained through collaborative or state-funded entities. For example, the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGAP) and the International Cancer Genome Consortium will grant approved research applicants access to de-identified individual level genomic data with accompanying demographic/clinical information.


Author(s):  
Dara Hallinan

This chapter looks at when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies, rationae materiae, to biobanking—only when the law applies to biobanking can it be expected to provide any protection for genetic privacy rights in biobanking at all. The GDPR's applicability criteria are outlined in Article 2; criteria concern both the types of processing activity covered by the GDPR and the mechanics of processing covered by the GDPR. In relation to the mechanics of biobank processing, the situation is complex. The key question which emerges is which types of biobanking substances can qualify as personal data? The concept of personal data can be usefully broken down into two aspects of any processing operation. First, the substance being processed: to qualify as personal data, a substance must be able to fulfil three criteria. A substance must be ‘information’, it must ‘relate to’ a specific person, and that person must be a ‘natural person’. In the biobanking context, health, lifestyle, and biographical information, sequenced genomic data, and individual research results certainly fulfil these criteria. Second, the link between the substance and a specific individual: to qualify as personal data, a substance must relate to an individual who is ‘identified or identifiable’. All biobanking substances processed in either linked or pseudonymised form will certainly qualify as ‘identified or identifiable’.


2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirah ‘Aisha Badrul Hisham ◽  
Mohamad Hafis Izran Ishak ◽  
Ruzairi Abdul Rahim ◽  
Nurul Hawani Idris

This day, Human Machine System (HMS) consider being a proven technology, which has gained an important role in various human activities. One of the most recent developments in this area is Human Adaptive Mechatronics (HAM) approach for enhancing human skills. This approach therefore is different compared to an ordinary HMS, in terms of its ability to adapt to changes in its environment and in the human changing level of skills. The crucial issue in HAM is in evaluating the human skills level on machine operation. In this paper, a skill index to quantify the performance of human drivers is studied in expected and guided conditions. The experiments are carried out on human subjects in normal driving. From this experiment, a new skill index formula is proposed based on the logical conditions and the definition of skill in HAM.


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