Social and Behavioral Challenges of HIV Vaccines: Implications for Social Work and Social Science

“Once Bitten, Twice Shy”: Participant perspectives in the aftermath of an early HIV vaccine trial termination

“…Extensive human and financial resources will be needed to support HIV vaccine and other biomedical HIV prevention trials for the foreseeable future. Systematic implementation of integrated (i.e., qualitative and quantitative) social science research among populations at higher risk for HIV [e.g., 11,13,14,17,26,29,30], and particularly in the context of HIV vaccine clinical trials [e.g., 5,12,31,32], may build evidence to support the highest standards of trial implementation and community engagement [6,27,33]. Incorporating social science research in HIV vaccine trials also may help us to prepare for the monumental challenges of future HIV vaccine dissemination [34,35].…”

“…The tremendous financial and human resources required, however, suggest the importance of using large-scale trials to their full advantage in marshalling evidence to address the complex social science as well as basic science challenges of HIV vaccine development [5,6]. To that end, the Step Study phase IIB HIV-1 vaccine trial [7] affords a unique opportunity to explore the experiences and perspectives of volunteers in the aftermath of an early trial termination amidst unexpected risks, with implications for recruitment and implementation of future HIV prevention trials.…”