Tag: Stuart Rennie

Ideally, the benefits of public health interventions should outweigh any associated harms, burdens, and adverse unintended consequences. The intended benefit of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs in eastern and southern Africa (ESA) is the reduction of HIV infections. We review the literature for evidence of reductions in HIV incidence,...

The Research for Ethical Data Science in Southern Africa (REDSSA) project has the overall aims of producing new knowledge regarding the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of conducting data science research to develop evidence-based, context specific guidance for the conduct and governance of data science initiatives such as DS-I...

Ongoing global efforts to circumcise adolescent and adult males to reduce their risk of acquiring HIV constitute the largest public health prevention initiative, using surgical means, in human history. Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs in Africa have significantly altered social norms related to male circumcision among previously non-circumcising groups...

The study purpose was to determine the prevalence and determinants of suicidal thoughts and behaviours in a rural community sample of 15–19-year-old Kenyan adolescents in a region with high HIV burden. Data were from an observational study examining ethical issues in adolescent HIV research (N=4084). Participants reporting suicidal ideation were...

Background Critical public health measures implemented to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have disrupted health research worldwide, including HIV prevention research. While general guidance has been issued for the responsible conduct of research in these challenging circumstances, the contours of the dueling COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...