Communicating Genetic Information: An Empathy-based Framework

Publication Date

2-1-2025

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (United Kingdom)

Volume

50

Issue

1

DOI

10.1093/jmp/jhae036

First Page

57

Last Page

73

Abstract

Contemporary healthcare environments are becoming increasingly informationally demanding. This requires patients, and those supporting them, to engage with a broad range of expert knowledge. At the same time, patients must find ways to make sense of this information in the context of their own values and needs. In this article, we confront the problem of communication in our current age of complexity. We do this by focusing on a field that has already had to grapple with these issues directly: genetic counseling. We articulate an empathy-based framework that provides a way to integrate the teaching and counseling models of genetic counseling. As well as being useful for those providing genetic counseling in the era of genomic medicine, this framework has the potential to address challenges of communication in healthcare settings beyond genetic counseling. Furthermore, it has important ramifications for ethical debates about autonomy and decision-making.

Keywords

education, genetics, medical ethics/bioethics, medical humanities, philosophy of medicine/health care

Department

Philosophy

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