ATTITUDES TO GENETIC TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION: AN UNDERSTANDING BASED ON A DIVERSE-COHORT PARTICIPATION TO FOCUS GROUPS IN THE UK

Genetics promise a personalised approach to the treatment of depression, where better, more focused, and a lesser trial and error approach will provide a better outcome for people living with depression. However, while the outcome of this approach would have personal benefits, its implementation can raise in practice various challenges, concerns or may require additional considerations. We conducted three small focus groups (5 participants per each session) with an ethnically and racially diverse cohort to understand how people with lived experience of depression perceive the use of genetics/personalised medicine for their treatment, focusing in particular on how they perceive the implementation of a personalised approach, the sequencing of their genome (for future links between genes and their response to anti-depressant drugs), the implementation of this approach compared with the current model of care, and the potential of genetics in revealing better response to alternative therapies compared to anti-depressant drugs. Our participants reflected on the huge potential of genetics in improving their life compared to their current treatment, but also the potential of genetics in being extended to other family members living with depression. While concerns were not directly linked to the use of genetics, participants expressed strong worries about the safety of personal data and sensitive information storage, especially given reports of NHS data breaches. On the other hand, in accordance with the literature on the topic, participants reflected on the potential of genetics in contributing to social destigmatisation and wider recognition of depression as a clinical condition that requires a clinical approach. In terms of financial implications for a personalised medicine approach to depression, participants highlighted the need of creating a long-term vision compared to a short-sighted/term approach to saving public money. While our findings are limited by recruitment process which led to participants having a strong background in public involvement with genetic research, it highlights how such involvement can create a bridge between research and people with lived experience of depression, especially for racial groups historically untrusty of medical research. We conclude how genetic research into the treatment of depression can become much more socially relevant by permanently linking its aims with people with lived experience. The focus groups have been conducted, analysed and interpreted collaboratively with members of AMBER Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP), who employs the expertise of people with lived experience of depression.