Author(s): Jenny Morgan, Indigenous Health Program, BC Women’s + Children’s Hospitals; Patricia Birch, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia; Rochelle Lesueur, Indigenous Health Program, BC Women’s + Children’s Hospitals; Rachel R Coe, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia; Ruth Kenny, Indigenous Health Program, BC Women’s + Children’s Hospitals
Summary
Genomic sequencing is a powerful new medical test that can diagnose many genetic conditions by examining a person’s entire genome. All variants (DNA differences) are compared to reference databases of healthy genomes to verify that they normally occur within healthy individuals. But normal variants differ across ancestral backgrounds; therefore ancestral diversity within these databases is crucial to interpreting results. Indigenous Peoples are currently under-represented in the databases, leading to difficulty interpreting results and thus healthcare inequity. This study intends to raise awareness of this issue with Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia and explore their opinions, values, and concerns about this issue.
