Genetic education to diverse communities employing a community empowerment model

Lack of equity in access to health care, in general, and genetic services in particular, places communities of color at a distinct disadvantage when considering the rapidly evolving genetic technology. Much of this disparity is owed to lack of trust and credibility in the genetic care system as well as multiple ethnocultural barriers to services. This paper presents a 3-year community outreach demonstration project in genetic education. The project employed the premise that the empowerment of the target communities to take active part in their genetic education, with attention to a wide array of the community's health care needs, is the most efficacious manner in which to provide genetic education to underserved communities.