About this Decision Aid

This genetic-test decision aid is provided as a public service and is not associated with any commercial entities. It is not intended to advocate for or against gene testing. It is designed to help users make their own best personal decision.

This decision aid is based on research conducted by Doris Teichler Zallen as reported in her book: To Test or Not to Test: A Guide to Genetic Screening and Risk (Rutgers University Press, 2008).

Doris Teichler Zallen is a professor emerita of science and technology studies at Virginia Tech. She has served on the National Institutes of Health Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee and is the recipient of awards for her research, teaching, and public-outreach activities. She is also the author of Does It Run in the Family?: A Consumer's Guide to DNA Testing for Genetic Disorders (Rutgers University Press).

The development of a prototype of this decision aid was supported by a grant from the Institute for Society, Culture, & Environment at Virginia Tech. In a separate study, this prototype was then evaluated by over one thousand individuals and changes were made based on the feedback received. This work was supported in part by Award No. 15-5 from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases Research Award Fund, administered by the Virginia Center on Aging, School of Allied Health Professionals, Virginia Commonwealth University.