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Genetic counselors as social and behavioral scientists in the era of precision medicine
Author(s) -
Biesecker Barbara B.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of medical genetics part c: seminars in medical genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.419
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1552-4876
pISSN - 1552-4868
DOI - 10.1002/ajmg.c.31609
Subject(s) - scope (computer science) , genetic counseling , precision medicine , behavioural sciences , workforce , psychology , engineering ethics , personalized medicine , medicine , medical education , computer science , bioinformatics , psychotherapist , political science , genetics , pathology , law , biology , programming language , engineering
In the era of precision medicine, translating genomics into clinical care will involve answering key questions in social and behavioral research. The scope of this research addresses assessing how clients perceive and use genomic information, and how effectively genetic counseling is meeting clients’ needs. Outcomes are central to enhancing practice effectiveness, improving patient outcomes, and informing cost effective services to address workforce challenges. While genetic counseling is generally thought of as a clinical practice, genetic counselors contribute to research in several ways. Counselors are actively involved in interpretation of sequence data, collaborate in clinical research teams, and serve as lead investigators. This commentary highlights genetic counselors as social and behavioral scientists and reviews evidence generated by genetic counselors, describes advanced training in research, and posits key social and behavioral research questions for genetic counseling in translating genomic science in the era of precision medicine.