[Volunteers and negotiation of anti-HIV vaccine protocols in Brazil].
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.
Cardoso
Gisela Cordeiro Pereira
GC
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. gisela.cardoso@gmail.com
Corrêa
Marilena Cordeiro Dias Villela
MC
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
D016915:AIDS Vaccines