Social harms in injecting drug users participating in the first phase III HIV vaccine trial in Thailand.
Article
in En
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-41218
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To study related social harms due to identification with a group of participants in an HIV-1 vaccine trial who are potentially high risk for HIV/AIDS. MATERIAL ANDMETHOD:
Two thousand five hundred forty six injecting drug users (IDU) were enrolled in a 36-month vaccine trial. Volunteers received education and risk reduction counseling at every six-month study visit. Social harms were not actively solicited, but volunteers were encouraged to report any during the process of counseling at every six-month visit. If a social harm was reported, a questionnaire was administered and the harm was tracked If necessary, clinic staff assisted in resolving the social harm.RESULTS:
Thirty-nine social harms were reported by 37 participants; 33 (84.6%) were disturbances in personal relationships, three (7.7%) in employment, one (2.6%) was medically related, one (2.6%) was related to admission in the military and one (2.6%) was related with misbelieve about the vaccine. The most common reason for disturbances in personal relationships was suspicion of HIV infection (n=20). The impact of these harms on quality of life was characterized as minimal by 31 (79.5%) participants, as moderate by seven (17.9%), and as major by one (2.6%). All social harms were documented to be resolved by the end of the study.CONCLUSION:
A few participants reported study-related social harms during the course of the trial. Most harm had minimal impact and all could be resolved by the end of the present study.
Full text:
1
Index:
IMSEAR
Main subject:
Prejudice
/
Psychological Tests
/
Psychometrics
/
Quality of Life
/
Risk-Taking
/
Social Adjustment
/
Social Isolation
/
Social Perception
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Thailand
/
Female
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
/
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Year:
2007
Type:
Article