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Cohorts as Collections of Bodies and Communities of Persons: Insights from the SEARCH010/RV254 Research Cohort

November 10, 2020
Longitudinal research cohorts are uniquely suited to answer research questions about morbidity and mortality. Cohorts may be comprised of individuals identified by specific conditions or other shared traits. We argue that research cohorts are more than simply aggregations of individuals and their associated data to meet research objectives. They are...

Ethics of Pursuing Targets in Public Health the Case of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention Programs in Kenya.

November 4, 2020
The use of targets to direct public health programmes, particularly in global initiatives, has become widely accepted and commonplace. This paper is an ethical analysis of the utilisation of targets in global public health using our fieldwork on and experiences with voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) initiatives in Kenya. Among...

Recommendations from Thai Stakeholders About Protecting HIV Remission (‘cure’) Trial Participants: Report from a Participatory Workshop

November 1, 2020
Background The social/behavioral HIV Decision-Making Study (DMS) assesses informed consent and trial experiences of individuals in HIV remission trials in Thailand. We convened a 1-d multi-stakeholder participatory workshop in Bangkok. We provide a meeting summary and reactions from DMS investigators. Methods Workshop members viewed de-identified interview excerpts from DMS participants....

HIV Molecular Epidemiology: Tool of Oppression or Empowerment?

September 30, 2020
Molldrem and Smith (2020) are to be commended for their insightful analysis of a public health practice that has received little attention among bioethicists: the use of molecular HIV surveillance (MHS) and cluster detection and response (CDR) for epidemiology and prevention. We agree with the authors that these methodologies raise...

Moral practices shaping HIV disclosure among young gay and bisexual men living with HIV in the context of biomedical advance

September 30, 2020
Biomedical advances in diagnostics, treatment and prevention increase the means available to reduce HIV transmission risk. Subsequent shifts in HIV status disclosure obligation and ethics may impact how those living with HIV view, enact and experience disclosure. We analysed focus group and interview data to explore how these changes are...

Comparative strategic approaches to COVID-19 in Africa: Balancing public interest with civil liberties

September 29, 2020
As COVID-19 spreads rapidly across Africa, causing havoc to economies and disruption to already fragile healthcare systems, it is becoming clear that despite standardised global health strategies, national and local government responses must be tailored to their individual settings. Some African countries have adopted stringent measures such as national lockdown,...

Allocation of scarce resources in Africa during COVID‐19: Utility and justice for the bottom of the pyramid?

September 29, 2020
The COVID‐19 pandemic has raised important universal public health challenges. Conceiving ethical responses to these challenges is a public health imperative but must take context into account. This is particularly important in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). In this paper, we examine how some of the ethical recommendations offered so far in...

Practical and Ethical Concerns in Implementing Enhanced Surveillance Methods to Improve Continuity of HIV Care: Qualitative Expert Stakeholder Study

September 16, 2020
Background: Retention in HIV care is critical to maintaining viral suppression and preventing further transmission, yet less than 50% of people living with HIV in the United States are engaged in care. All US states have a funding mandate to implement Data-to-Care (D2C) programs, which use surveillance data (eg, laboratory,...

Adolescent Perceptions about Participating in HIV-Related Research Studies.

September 1, 2020
The rising incidence of infection among youth in sub-Saharan Africa makes HIV-related research among younger people a top priority. There remains, however, a lack of consistent and unambiguous ethical principles and guidance for researchers wishing to conduct HIV studies with adolescents. The overarching aim of our research was to better...

Pathways to Depression and Poor Quality of Life Among Adolescents in Western Kenya: Role of Anticipated HIV Stigma, HIV Risk Perception, and Sexual Behaviors

August 3, 2020
Depression is a major cause of disease burden and is linked to poor quality of life (QOL) among adolescents. We examined the roles of sexual behaviors, HIV risk perception, and anticipated HIV stigma on depressive symptomatology and QOL among 4096 adolescents in a rural region of western Kenya with a...