ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2017
"We're giving you something so we get something in return": Perspectives on research participation and compensation among people living with HIV who use drugs.
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Promoting Healthy Aging Through Mindfulness and Yoga: A Systematic Review of Interventions for People Living with HIV Who Use Drugs or Who Have a History of Substance Use.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- "You would not be in a hurry to go back home": patients' willingness to participate in HIV/AIDS clinical trials at a clinical and research facility in Kampala, Uganda.BMC medical ethics · 2020Trial
- Payday Loan Use Among People With Lived and Living Experience of Substance Use.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- Determining Ethical Incentives in Biomedical HIV Research: Insights from Researchers, Regulators, and People Living with HIV.Journal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE · 2026Article
- "Cold Hard Cash": The Value of Direct Unconditional Compensation for People With Lived Expertise of Homelessness.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Interventions for methamphetamine use among people on methadone maintenance treatment in Vietnam: a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (STAR-OM).The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2026Article
- Advocating for cash incentives instead of gift cards in public health research: Dollars over donuts.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Article
- Experiences of people who inject drugs with hepatitis C testing and their perceptions of a pharmacy-based testing option: a qualitative study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Conflicting perspectives on what constitutes fair compensation and benefits among research stakeholders in Malawi.BMC medical ethics · 2025Article
- Something does not add up: Rethinking how we compensate for research participation among people who use drugs.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- "We've lost a lot of lives:" the impact of the closure of North America's busiest supervised consumption site on people who use substances and the organizations that work with them.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- A qualitative study exploring motivations for participating in research among women who use opioids.PloS one · 2025Article
- Transgender Individuals' Perspectives on Teledermatology-Based Acne Research.Archives of dermatological research · 2025Article
- Access to tablet injectable opioid agonist therapy in rural and smaller urban settings in British Columbia, Canada: a qualitative study.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2023Article
- Impact of health system engagement on the health and well-being of people who use drugs: a realist review protocol.Systematic reviews · 2022Article
- What are the ethical implications of using prize-based contingency management in substance use? A scoping review.Harm reduction journal · 2021Article
- "He's under oath": Privacy and Confidentiality Views Among People Who Inject Drugs Enrolled in a Study of Social Networks and Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Hepatitis C Virus Risk.Journal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE · 2021Article
- Designing and implementing an intervention for returning citizens living with substance use disorder: discovering the benefits of peer recovery coach involvement in pilot clinical trial decision-making.Journal of offender rehabilitation · 2021Article
- Towards a fair and transparent research participant compensation and reimbursement framework in Vietnam.International health · 2020Article
- Barriers and motivators to participation and retention in HIV/HCV cohort studies among people who inject drugs: a community consultation in Iran.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCompensation for participating in research has been a fundamental element of the research apparatus despite concerns about its impact on incentivising participation. Researchers and research ethics boards acknowledge that compensation may prompt structurally vulnerable populations, such as people who use drugs (PWUD), to engage in research primarily out of financial need. Thus, institutional restrictions around compensation have been implemented. This study explores the ethical implications of compensation practices aimed at 'protecting' structurally vulnerable people living with HIV (PLHIV) who use drugs within the context of individuals' lived realities.
methodsWe draw on five focus groups conducted in 2011 with 25 PLHIV who use drugs and access a community-based HIV care facility in Vancouver, Canada. This analysis focused on participants' perceptions of research compensation, which became the central point of discussion in each group.
resultsParticipants viewed research as a transactional process through which they could challenge the underpinnings of bioethics and bargain for compensation. Research compensation was thus critical to attracting participants and positioned as a 'legitimate' form of income. Participants' medicalised identities, specifically living with HIV, were fundamental to justifying compensation. The type of compensation (e.g. gift card, cash) also significantly impacted whether participants were fully compensated and, at times, served to exacerbate their structural vulnerability.
conclusionResearch compensation is critical in shaping structurally vulnerable populations' participation and experiences with research and can further marginalize individuals. Practices surrounding research compensation, particularly for drug-using and HIV-positive populations, need to be evaluated to ensure participants are equitably compensated for the expertise they provide.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.