EP PerMed has recently established a Citizen Engagement Board to advise on matters related to Citizen Engagement in Personalised Medicine.
Citizen engagement in healthcare is a crucial and sensitive issue, especially when it comes to personalised medicine. An in-depth understanding of the various factors that can determine citizens’ cooperation and acceptance of personalised medicine is at the basis of the uptake and success of personalised medicine. On the other hand, citizens need to be empowered to make choices that take into account risks and benefits.
The Citizen Engagement Board (CEB) will contribute to the development of EP PerMed’s Citizen Engagement Strategy (CES), a guiding document that will describe EP PerMed’s citizen engagement objectives and actions for the coming years. The CES aims to put citizens at the centre and describes the actions planned to involve diversity and minorities and, where appropriate, to address inequalities that may arise in the process of developing personalised medicine.
The Citizen Engagement Board will also contribute to the preparation of an EP PerMed survey on citizens’ awareness of personalised medicine, a tool that will help to understand citizens’ perception and level of awareness of the issue. It will also help to understand the development of personalised medicine from the perspective of citizens and patients, including expectations and possible concerns.
The members of the board will provide state-of-the-art knowledge and advice to help EP PerMed best address citizen engagement in personalised medicine.
The members of the CEB are:
| Name | Affiliation | Job Title |
| Magdalena Daccord | FH Europe | Chief Executive |
| Marie Nugent | Genomics England | Community Manager |
| Joy Zhang | University of Kent | Professor of Sociology |
| David Wyatt | King’s College London | Senior Research Fellow |
Citizen engagement is part of EP PerMed Work Package 5 ‘International, transnational, interregional and transversal cooperation’.