Using a 2-stage strategy with respondent-driven sampling to recruit a hard-to-reach population for a placebo microbicide gel clinical trial in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh (India).
Traditional recruitment methods for microbicide efficacy trials are labor intensive and may fail to reach high-risk hard-to-reach populations. We report duration of recruitment and lessons learned from a two-stage process to recruit female sex workers (FSWs) into a placebo microbicide trial, and examined characteristics associated with successful recruitment of peers who screened for and enrolled in the trial. FSWs were first recruited via respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to complete a survey and subsequently invited to screen for enrollment into a placebo microbicide trial taking place at a local clinic. It took 6 months to enroll 267 participants into the trial. Successful recruiters of peers who enrolled were more likely to have enrolled themselves (AOR 2.0, CI 1.3-2.9) and less likely to visit Nellore city (AOR 0.5, CI 0.3-0.9). Recruitment of FSWs via a two-stage recruitment strategy with RDS can be a good option for future clinical trials.
HIV and AIDS Program, Population Council, 4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 80, Washington, DC, 20008, USA, wtun@popcouncil.org.
Waimar
W
Tun
Lauren L
LL
Katzen
Sharon A
SA
Abbott
Aylur K
AK
Srikrishnan
Christine A
CA
Kelly
Avina
A
Sarna
Barbara A
BA
Friedland
Suniti
S
Solomon
Barbara S
BS
Mensch
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011477:Sex Work; D060386:Sex Workers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D014622:Vaginal Creams, Foams, and Jellies / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D014622:Vaginal Creams, Foams, and Jellies