Knowledge of Human Genome Project among Dentistry undergraduates

Resumo

The Human Genome Project (HGP) has allowed for
advances in diagnosis and prevention of diseases. Objective: The
aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge of undergraduates
from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, regarding HGP and
its applicability. Material and methods: Thirty-one students were
interviewed by using a questionnaire with open questions, followed
by qualitative and quantitative analysis through answers’ grouping.
Results: Only 4.5% did not know HGP, while most of them (83%)
demonstrated knowledge gained from the media. Only 21% cited the
undergraduate program as a source of information, 56% recognized
advances in disease prevention and 81% reported applicability in
Dentistry. 97% students would give blood samples for research,
28% reported concern about misuse of this information, while 31%
did not report any disadvantage. Conclusion: It may be concluded
that the students have some knowledge on HGP. However, it is not
widely discussed during course, because the media was the main
source of information.