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Women's willingness to participate in microbicide trials,
Northern Thailand.
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 2001;28(2):180-186.
Tharawan K,
Manopaiboon C, Ellertson C, Limpakarnjanarat K, Korattana S, Kilmarx PH,
Blanchard K, Coggins C, Mastro TD, Elias C.
Abstract
Summary: To assess women's interests and concerns regarding participation
in trials of microbicides in Chiang Rai, Thailand, we administered structured
questionnaires. Before answering the questionnaire, women attended an educational
session on microbicides and clinical trials. Of 370 participants, 82% correctly
answered 8 or more of the 11 overall comprehension questions, indicating an
adequate knowledge base among the women from which to answer questions about
attitudes toward microbicide trials. The most common motivations for participating
in a trial were "getting tested for HIV" and "doing something
good for women's health." The greatest barrier to participation was
women's fear that if they proposed use of a microbicide, their husbands
might feel protected and thereby have more sex partners. Overall, 6.2% said
they would be "definitely willing to participate," and 66.8% said
they wanted to participate but wanted to think about it. Most women previously
unacquainted with the concept of microbicides or clinical trial design displayed
adequate knowledge of these subjects after the short educational session. If
women's initial reactions are validated by actual willingness, surveys
could prove valuable for selecting sites for microbicide trials, estimating
enrollment rates, and tailoring trials to make them most acceptable to women.