Abstract
One quarter of HIV infections globally occur among young people 15 to 24 years of age, and more than half of all new infections are in people younger than 25 years. Clearly, there is a need to identify and implement effective HIV prevention strategies among at-risk teens. Some of the most effective options for slowing the epidemic are biomedical, and several promising methods are in development, including microbicides, vaccines, and preexposure prophylaxis (PREP, or the daily use of antiretrovirals to prevent the acquisition of HIV). There is widespread reluctance to enroll minors in such biomedical prevention trials because of concerns about vulnerability related to physical maturity, experiential maturity, and diminished autonomy as well as legal and social challenges that vary across and within nations. However, excluding minors from trials misses an important opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness, acceptability, and safety of innovative interventions under the best conditions for identifying and resolving potential problems. The challenges of including minors in HIV prevention trials are highlighted through the example of one rural South African community that has been particularly devastated by the HIV epidemic.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 78-82 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2007 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:K.M.M. was supported by the United States Agency for International Development through Cooperative Agreement No. GPO-A-00-05-00022-00 to Family Health International. Q.A.K. is supported by CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa), which is part of the Comprehensive International Program of Research on AIDS (CIPRA), National Institute of Allergy and infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (Grant No. 1 U19 AI51794). Q.A.K. is additionally supported by the Columbia University-Southern African Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program (Grant No. D43 TW00231). The content of this report does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the funders, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This work was independent of the funders.
Funding
K.M.M. was supported by the United States Agency for International Development through Cooperative Agreement No. GPO-A-00-05-00022-00 to Family Health International. Q.A.K. is supported by CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa), which is part of the Comprehensive International Program of Research on AIDS (CIPRA), National Institute of Allergy and infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (Grant No. 1 U19 AI51794). Q.A.K. is additionally supported by the Columbia University-Southern African Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program (Grant No. D43 TW00231). The content of this report does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the funders, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This work was independent of the funders.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa | |
| Columbia University-Southern African Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program | D43 TW00231 |
| National Institutes of Health | |
| U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | 1 U19 AI51794 |
| National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases | |
| Fogarty International Center | D43TW000231 |
| United States Agency for International Development | GPO-A-00-05-00022-00 |
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Advanced and Specialised Nursing
