title: [Volunteers and negotiation of anti-HIV vaccine protocols in Brazil].
abstract: This study monitored the protocol of a clinical trial for experimental anti-HIV vaccines in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, focusing on the recruitment, selection, and follow-up of volunteers. The techniques included observation of the research center's routine and interviews with health professionals and volunteers. The results show that the trial is a collective activity, in which constant negotiations are needed between the protocol requirements and what can, should, or must be adapted in order for it to work, as a function of: prolonged time before the trial's approval by the regulatory bodies, difficulties in recruiting volunteers, and even larger problems like discontinuity in the vaccines (which occurred in a specific protocol). The article discusses how the protocol's application extends beyond the technical and scientific "script", transforming it into a boundary object between different social worlds. The protocol is adapted according to a local order, based on the dynamics of social relations and the constant interrelationship between science, society, technique, and politics.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. gisela.cardoso@gmail.com
authors.forename: Gisela Cordeiro Pereira
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Marilena Cordeiro Dias Villela
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Corrêa
mesh_terms: D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017008:Negotiating; D018579:Patient Selection; D036301:Qualitative Research; D035141:Voluntary Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016915:AIDS Vaccines