Abstract

The rapid development of biomedicine could, in the future, facilitate a kind of medicine that identifies morbidity risks early, even before clinical symptoms occur, and that provides therapy options tailored to the needs of each patient. There is a growing call for a greater participation of the young generation in establishing future technological developments with due regard to their ethical, social and economic concerns. This article reports on the development and implementation of a citizen scenario workshop which was highly structured, moderated and supported by experts. For six months, 22 German participants in the European Youth Parliament developed four scenarios of personalized health care in 2025. The participants identified 25 driving factors that influence the future of personalized medicine in the German health care system and characterized the essential risks and chances of each scenario. Results and evaluation both show that as a participatory tool, the scenario method is suitable for fostering societal involvement in the debate about possible futures. The methodology employed is presented, followed by a detailed description of each of the four scenarios.