Perceptions of the human genome project among a sample of chilean college community

Abstract

During the years 2001-2002, we conducted an investigation regarding Chilean undergraduate students' and professors' perceptions of the human genome project. We interviewed 50 male and female undergraduate students from five faculties (Science, Social Science, Philosophy, Arts, and the general Bachelor program), 10 academics, and conducted 10 focus groups among students pertaining to the same academic units. In this paper we will discuss the results of this investigation in order to answer four questions: what the human genome project means to the interviewees, how they got their information about it, what consequences it could bring, and what should be done with this knowledge.