Evaluation of Attitude, Risk Behavior and Expectations
among Thai Participants in Phase 1/11 HIV I AIDS Vaccine
Trials
WIRACH MAEK-A-NANTAWAT, MD*, PUNNEE PITISUTTITHUM, MD*t,
BENJALUCK PHONRA T, MSc*, V ALAI BUSSARAT ID, MD*,
SUPA NAKSRISOOK, BSc*, WANTA NEE PEONIM, BSc*,
NARUM ON THANT AMNU, BSc*, RUNGRAPAT MUANAUM*
Affiliation : *Vaccine Trial Center, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand.
t Correspondence author
AbstractThe Understanding of volunteers in vaccine trials about their role as study participants and
their voluntary commitment during the study are always one of the important concerns apart from
evaluation of safety and efficacy of vaccine trials, especially in HIV prophylactic vaccine trials. The
apprehension of indirectly risky behavior encouragement and deviated expectations among volunteers
should be of concern. The current prospective cohort study aimed to assess and monitor the changes
of risk behaviors, attitude and expectations among 164 volunteers from 2 studies of different prophy
lactic HIV vaccines, the Chiron HIV Thai E gp 120/MF59 ±the Chiron HIV SF52 gpl20 and Aventis
Pasteur Live Recombinant ALVAC HIV (vCP1521) priming with VaxGen gpl20B/E (AIDSVAX™
B/E) boosting. 113 males and 51 females with a mean age(± SO) of 28.82 ± 7.97 years old were
enrolled from October 1997 to December 1998 and February 2000 to April 2001. Education and risk
reduction counseling were regularly performed at every visit and questionnaires about risk behaviors,
knowledge, attitudes, social influences and expectations were asked at baseline, 4 months and 12
months. No change of potentially HIV transmission related risk behavior was observed during the
studies. There was a statistically significant decrease of risk sexual practices from the beginning of
the trials (42.2% vs 1%, p < 0.0001). While 35.2 per cent from 62.2 per cent of the volunteers at the
beginning of the study continued sexual practice with an identified single sexual partner at the end of
the study (p < 0.0001 ). All of the volunteers expressed the beneficial expectations as knowledge gain,
social contribution, feelings of having gained merit and self-benefits from health check-ups.
Keywords : Risk Assessment, Counseling, HIV/AIDS Vaccine Trial
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