THE NEW GENETICS AND HEALTH - MOBILIZING LAY EXPERTISE

Public understanding of the new genetics is often criticized in discus sions about the social and ethical issues the new genetics raise. In t his paper we challenge the ''deficit model'' evident in this dominant discourse, and offer a constructivist approach. We explore lay experti se about the new genetics, presenting an analysis of data from ten foc us group discussions with a range of lay people. After distinguishing four different types of knowledge lay people hold-technical, methodolo gical, institutional, and cultural-we go on to consider how lay people 's mobilization of this ''stock of knowledge'' is influenced by social location and social context, exploring in particular interviewees' pe rceptions of relevancy. We conclude that identifying lay people as exp ert in, rather than ignorant of, the way genetics may shape their live s is a fundamental first step in moving toward greater lay participati on in policy discussions and, ultimately, decision making about the ne w genetics and health.