Awareness, and interest in personalized medicine: a cross-sectional survey study of health professionals.

Background: Personalized medicine (PM) is advancing disease prevention and treatment, but regulatory and clinical concerns persist, requiring evaluation of healthcare professionals' (HPs) knowledge and attitudes.

Methods: His study assessed PM awareness among HPs at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Participants from diverse clinical departments completed a survey covering PM definitions, benefits, ethical concerns, genetic testing knowledge, attitudes, and barriers. A literature review guided question development.

Results: Among 141 HPs (55.3% male, 44.7% female), only 27.7% reported sufficient PM knowledge, though 82.3% acknowledged genetic health influences. Those with adequate knowledge more often endorsed PM tools (92.3% vs. 68.6%, p = 0.01) but expressed greater concern about healthcare disparities (82.1% vs. 67.6%, p = 0.03). Key barriers included cost (17%) and ethical risks, with 72% fearing PM would widen economic gaps and 23.4% anticipating insurance discrimination. Females and married HPs were more concerned about discrimination (p = 0.039 and p = 0.038, respectively). Despite concerns, 80% of physicians supported genome-guided prescribing.

Conclusion: While HPs recognize PM's potential, limited awareness and ethical concerns hinder adoption. Addressing knowledge gaps and equity issues through education is crucial for PM integration in Iran.