Health Promotion International, Vol. 18, No. 1, 79-80,
March 2003
© Oxford University Press 2003
RESOURCE REVIEW |
The New Genetics and the Public’s Health
Alan Petersen and Robin Bunton Routledge, London, April 2002
Doctoral student, Genomics Policy Unit, University of Glamorgan, Wales
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I welcomed the opportunity to review this book, which claims to be unique in its approach to the issue of genetics and its impact on the public health. Rather than focusing on medical genetics, preventative medicine or bioethics, the book takes a sociocultural approach. The authors set out to address the implications of the new genetics for public health practice and development by tackling five themes: risk and decision-making; the nature/culture dichotomy; anticipated new gene therapies; the role of the media in framing the debate; and the logic of the market. They attempt to examine the ways in which conceptions of health, disease and normality have been reshaped by politico-economic and global issues. These issues are examined by looking at the cultural context in which public health genetics is placed. This is then related