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The different facets of “culture” in genetic counseling: A situated analysis of genetic counseling in Hong Kong
Author(s) -
Zayts Olga,
Shipman Hannah,
Fung Jasmine L.F.,
Liu Anthony P.Y.,
Kwok SitYee,
Tsai Anne C.H.,
Yung TakCheung,
Chung Brian H.Y.
Publication year - 2019
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.31699
Subject(s) - acknowledgement , genetic counseling , context (archaeology) , essentialism , situated , psychology , set (abstract data type) , social psychology , sociology , gender studies , computer science , genetics , paleontology , computer security , artificial intelligence , biology , programming language
In this article, we problematize the concept of “culture” in genetic counseling. With globalization and increased mobility of both genetic professionals and clients, there is an increased acknowledgement of the impact of “culture” on a counseling process. There is, however, little agreement on what “culture” is. The essentialist understanding that has long been dominant in the medical literature views culture as a set of shared beliefs, attitudes and practices among a group of people. Such an approach does not account for the individual differences and the dynamic nature of genetic counseling encounters. Following Zayts and Schnurr (2017), we use the distinction between two orders of culture: culture 1 that refers to the static, generalized understanding of culture that is external to the specific context, and culture 2 , an analytic concept that denotes dynamic enactments of culture, emerging in the interaction. We use empirical data from genetic counseling sessions to illustrate these different facets of culture and to consider how and why speakers draw on them. The clinical implications of the study include highlighting the importance of cultural awareness among counselors, including cultural self‐awareness, and demonstrating how authentic interactional data could be used to enhance cultural training in genetic counseling.