Assessing the attitudes, knowledge, and awareness of HIV vaccine research among adults in the United States.
OBJECTIVE
To assess HIV vaccine research attitudes, awareness, and knowledge among adults in the general US population, African Americans, Hispanics, and men who have sex with men (MSM).


METHODS
Applying results of focus groups and a media content analysis, a survey was designed and conducted to validate key HIV vaccine research themes and messages identified by focus groups and a media content analysis. Between December 2002 and February 2003, 3509 telephone interviews were conducted, including 2008 randomly selected from the general population, and 501 population-specific samples of African Americans and Hispanics, and 500 from MSM.


RESULTS
Although the majority of each population believes that an HIV preventive vaccine is the best way to control and end the global AIDS epidemic, only 34.9% of African Americans and 28.8% of the general population are supportive of someone they know volunteering for an HIV vaccine trial. The study also found that 47.1% of African Americans, 26.5% of Hispanics, and 13.4% of MSM believed an HIV vaccine already exists and is being kept secret, and 78.0% of African Americans, 57.5% of Hispanics, and 68.0% of MSM did not know or incorrectly believed that the vaccines being tested could cause HIV infection. A subanalysis of the general population also found that women generally had less knowledge of or a decreased awareness about HIV vaccine research.


CONCLUSIONS
Awareness, knowledge, and attitudes toward HIV vaccine research vary by population and these issues must be addressed to ensure an adequate number of volunteers for future domestic HIV preventive vaccine clinical trials. In some populations, barriers such as misinformation and distrust must be targeted to increase support for HIV vaccine research.
Allen
Mary A
MA
Division of AIDS, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-7620, USA.
Liang
Thomas S
TS
La Salvia
Thomas
T
Tjugum
Brian
B
Gulakowski
Robert J
RJ
Murguía
Matthew
M
D016915:AIDS Vaccines; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012106:Research; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
D016915:AIDS Vaccines