June 27, 2014
Published June 20 in PLOS ONE, “Improving Ethical and Participatory Practice for Marginalized Populations in Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials: Lessons from Thailand” includes findings from a qualitative study on the conduct of HIV prevention research and the involvement of marginalized populations in Thailand. The Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Guidelines for Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials—which provide trial funders, sponsors and implementers with guidance on how to engage with all stakeholders in the design and conduct of biomedical HIV prevention trials—guided the research.
In the early 2000s, the well-documented stoppage of PrEP research in Cameroon and Cambodia helped catalyze action around documenting best practices for stakeholder engagement. And in 2007, the first draft of the Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for biomedical HIV prevention trials were published. In 2011 a revised edition, informed by community consultation and use, was released.
The research reported in PLOS ONE was undertaken to help inform how to prevent similar trial closures in the future. The article, authored by Dan Allman, Melissa Hope Ditmore and Karyn Kaplan—partners in AVAC’s GPP Initiative—focused on a few specific areas: standards of HIV prevention, informed consent and communication. And while the focus of the research was on the experience in Thailand, the results can inform practice in other areas of the world where research is planned or ongoing in marginalized populations.
Read more on the study and its results here.
For more on the guidelines and AVAC’s GPP Initiative click here.