title: Disclosure of HIV status on informed consent forms presents an ethical dilemma for protection of human subjects.
abstract: The privacy of copies of consent forms provided to research participants cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, consent forms that disclose a subject's HIV status may result in breach of confidentiality and cause social harms. Under the ethical principle of beneficence defined in the Belmont Report, we recommend that disclosure of HIV status be through voluntary counseling and testing; however, whenever possible, copies of consent form should not specify HIV status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. rgray@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Ronald H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Nelson K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Sewankambo
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wawer
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Serwadda
authors.forename: Noah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kiwanuka
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lutalo
mesh_terms: D032962:Consent Forms / Q000941:ethics*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics*; D018907:Privacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014342:Truth Disclosure / Q000941:ethics