Willingness to participate in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials among HIV-infected patients on ART in China.
BACKGROUND
More and more HIV therapeutic vaccines will enter clinical trials; however, little is known about the willingness to participate (WTP) in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials among HIV-positive individuals.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the WTP in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials among Chinese HIV-infected patients.


METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional survey on HIV-positive inpatients and outpatients at Shanghai Public Health Center. A total of 447 participants were recruited into this study. Following an introduction with general information on HIV therapeutic vaccine and its potential effectiveness and side effects, each participant completed a questionnaire in a self-administered form. The questionnaires covered demographics, high-risk behaviors, clinical characteristics and willingness to participate in HIV therapeutic vaccine trial.


RESULTS
The overall willingness to participate in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials was 91.5%. Interestingly, multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the willingness was higher for those sexually infected by HIV (odds ratio [OR]: 4.36; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.53-12.41), diagnosed as HIV-1 infection for greater than 5 years (OR: 7.12, 95% CI: 1.83-27.76), and with the presence of infectious complications (OR: 2.75; 95% CI: 1.02-7.45). The primary reason for participation was to delay or reduce antiretroviral treatment (ART) and to avoid ART side effects (76.6%), and then followed by delaying disease progression (74.9%), increasing immune response to suppress opportunistic infections (57.7%) and preventing the development of drug resistance (37.1%). Reasons for unwillingness to participate mainly included concern for safety (37.0%), lack of knowledge on therapeutic vaccine (33.3%), and satisfaction with ART effectiveness (22.2%).


CONCLUSIONS
The WTP in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials was high among HIV-infected Chinese patients. HIV+ subjects who acquired infection through sexual contact and who were diagnosed for more than 5 years may represent a good candidate population for enrollment in therapeutic vaccine trials.
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Yuan
Y
Dong
Bloomberg School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Xiaoxing
X
Shen
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Ruizhang
R
Guo
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Baochi
B
Liu
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Lingyan
L
Zhu
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Jing
J
Wang
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Linxia
L
Zhang
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Jun
J
Sun
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, China CDC, Beijing, China.
Xiaoyan
X
Zhang
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, China CDC, Beijing, China.
Jianqing
J
Xu
D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D002681:China; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010358:Patient Participation; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D016915:AIDS Vaccines