Understanding perspectives on population genomics

Population genomics has the potential to support prevention, earlier intervention and more personalised care. Large-scale programmes will only succeed if they are trusted, inclusive and designed around the needs of the people and professionals who will use them.

Genomics England commissioned us to review what is already known about public and healthcare professional attitudes, concerns, expectations and motivations around population-level genomic testing in adults.

We delivered a structured literature review across peer-reviewed and grey literature, synthesising evidence on public and healthcare professional perspectives.

We explored attitudes across different genomic contexts, including inherited disease risk, polygenic risk and pharmacogenomics. We analysed the findings thematically and translated them into practical insights for engagement, service design and future research.

The review identified key motivators, barriers and evidence gaps, including the importance of trusted clinical messengers, accessible communication, genomic literacy, inclusive engagement and user-centred service design.

The project gave Genomics England a clear evidence base to support the next phase of population genomics engagement and programme design.

It highlighted where there is already strong public and professional interest, where barriers remain, and where further engagement is needed, particularly with non-genetic healthcare professionals and underserved communities.

Population genomics is a question of trust, communication, equity and implementation.

This project shows how we combine genomics expertise, evidence synthesis and design thinking to help partners move from ambition to responsible, real-world delivery.