Exploring Patients’ Experiences and Meanings of Pharmacogenomic-Based Individualized Therapy in Primary Healthcare
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Abstract
Pharmaceutical science has increasingly embraced pharmacogenomics, a discipline exploring how genetic variations influence individual drug responses, marking a major shift toward personalized medicine. Within this transformation, patients’ lived experiences of pharmacogenomic-based therapy remain insufficiently understood, particularly regarding how they perceive, interpret, and adapt to genetically informed treatment. Despite progress in clinical research, little is known about the emotional, ethical, and existential meanings patients attach to such therapies—raising the question of how individuals make sense of personalized treatment that intertwines science and identity. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, this study explores the essence of patients’ experiences with pharmacogenomic-guided diabetes therapy in primary healthcare contexts. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with twelve participants, and analyzed thematically to identify core experiential themes. Findings reveal that patients view pharmacogenomic therapy as both a biomedical advancement and a personal journey characterized by trust negotiation, emotional ambivalence, and redefinition of health and normality. The study demonstrates that genetic personalization reshapes patients’ understanding of self and responsibility, extending beyond medical compliance to moral and existential reflection. However, the study is limited by its small sample size and context-specific focus within primary healthcare settings, which may affect the generalizability of findings. By uncovering these lived meanings, the research advances a more human-centered understanding of pharmacogenomics, emphasizing empathy, ethical awareness, and reflective practice in precision medicine. These insights encourage future interdisciplinary studies to integrate phenomenological inquiry into the evolving landscape of genomic healthcare.
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