Addressing Ethnicity in the Design and Evaluation of an Educational Intervention on Interindividual Variation in Pharmacokinetics

Koenig, Jennifer A.; Olafuyi, Olusola; Patel, Rakesh

Abstract

Interindividual variation in pharmacokinetics can occur due to diet, environmental or lifestyle factors, underlying pathology, and gene variants, typically single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Genetic mechanisms have received the most attention in research and education about ethnic differences in pharmacokinetics. Making this connection between genetics and ethnicity is problematic because it could reinforce the erroneous idea that there is a biological basis to ethnicity. The aim of this work was to design an educational intervention about interindividual variation in pharmacokinetics, explore how students perceive ethnicity and genetic differences prior to the educational intervention, and then assess the impact of the intervention and whether it could influence any misconceptions students might have about ethnicity and genetic similarity. Through the use of questionnaires and focus groups, we found that students typically refer to ethnicity to mean culture and place of origin, whereas in the pharmacological literature, ethnicity is synonymous with racial groups, that is, Black, White, and Asian. Prior to the educational intervention, students tended to expect a genetic mechanism for ethnic differences in drug metabolism and this was reduced after the intervention when a range of other nongenetic mechanisms were presented for interindividual variation. However, students' views about possible underlying mechanisms for ethnic differences in hypertension and about ethnicity more generally were unaffected by the intervention. This highlights the importance of reevaluating the way ethnicity is presented across the medical and medical sciences curriculums to be clear that ethnicity is socially constructed and avoid implying a biological basis.

Citation

Koenig, J. A., Olafuyi, O., & Patel, R. (2025). Addressing Ethnicity in the Design and Evaluation of an Educational Intervention on Interindividual Variation in Pharmacokinetics. Pharmacology Research and Perspectives, 13(1), Article e70073. https://doi.org/10.1002/prp2.70073

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 19, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 6, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025-02
• Deposit Date: Mar 26, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 28, 2025
• Journal: Pharmacology Research and Perspectives
• Print ISSN: 2052-1707
• Electronic ISSN: 2052-1707
• Publisher: Wiley Open Access
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: e70073
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/prp2.70073
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/46734362
• Publisher URL: https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/prp2.70073