PhD Conferral Mrs. Kelly F.J. Stewart, MSc.

"Preventive genetic testing. Our best foot forward"

Personalised healthcare is undergoing rapid developments, including personal genetic testing for disease risk. A person's genetic profile can be used to determine his or her disease risk, which in turn can be used to encourage behavioural change. These genetic tests are offered directly to consumers, without the intervention of a healthcare professional. This is known as direct-to-consumer genetic testing. In this dissertation, we examined issues relating to this approach, from making well-informed decisions, to undergoing genetic testing to providing genetic counselling afterwards to achieve long-term behavioural change. We translated our findings into a new service: Health Potential®.