Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19709442›Full record

ArticleBMC medical ethics2009

Informed recruitment in partner studies of HIV transmission: an ethical issue in couples research.

Louise-Anne McNutt, Elisa J Gordon, Anneli Uusküla

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical ethics, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Louise-Anne McNuttDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, USA. lamcnutt@gmail.com
Elisa J Gordon
Anneli Uusküla

Funding

Risk Factors for HIV/AIDS in Drug UsersR01DA003574 · NIDA · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · PI DES JARLAIS, DON C, MCKNIGHT, COURTNEY · 1986 to 2025
$16.2M
Self-Care &Outcomes Among Kidney Transplant RecipientsK01DK063953 · NIDDK · LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO · PI GORDON, ELISA J · 2003 to 2007
$581k
Screening for STDs using home sampling in EstoniaR01TW006990 · FIC · UNIVERSITY OF TARTU · PI UUSKULA, ANNELI · 2004 to 2007
$212k
FIC NIH HHS R01 TW006990NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA003574NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA 03574NIDDK NIH HHS DK063953NIDDK NIH HHS K01 DK063953
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMuch attention has been devoted to ethical issues related to randomized controlled trials for HIV treatment and prevention. However, there has been less discussion of ethical issues surrounding families involved in observational studies of HIV transmission. This paper describes the process of ethical deliberation about how best to obtain informed consent from sex partners of injection drug users (IDUs) tested for HIV, within a recent HIV study in Eastern Europe. The study aimed to assess the amount of HIV serodiscordance among IDUs and their sexual partners, identify barriers to harm reduction, and explore ways to optimize intervention programs. Including IDUs, either HIV-positive or at high risk for HIV, and their sexual partners would help to gain a more complete understanding of barriers to and opportunities for intervention. DISCUSSION: This paper focuses on the ethical dilemma regarding informed recruitment: whether researchers should disclose to sexual partners of IDUs that they were recruited because their partner injects drugs (i.e., their heightened risk for HIV). Disclosing risks to partners upholds the ethical value of respect for persons through informed consent. However, disclosure compromises the IDU's confidentiality, and potentially, the scientific validity of the research. Following a brief literature review, we summarize the researchers' systematic evaluation of this issue from ethical, scientific, and logistical perspectives. While the cultural context may be somewhat unique to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the issues raised and solutions proposed here inform epidemiological research designs and their underlying ethical tensions. SUMMARY: We present ethical arguments in favor of disclosure, discuss how cultural context shapes the ethical issues, and recommend refinement of guidance for couples research of communicable diseases to assist investigators encountering these ethical issues in the future.

Indexed as

Sexual PartnersAdolescentAdultConfidentialityCultural CharacteristicsDecision MakingEstoniaEurope, EasternFemaleHarm ReductionHIV InfectionsHumansIncidenceInformed ConsentMaleMiddle Aged

Identifiers

PMID19709442
PMCPMC2751767

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.