| Title | Sexual risk behaviour of the first cohort undergoing screening for enrollment into Phase I/II HIV vaccine trials in South Africa. |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2009 |
| Authors | Andersson, K. M., R. M. Van Niekerk, L. M. Niccolai, O. N. Mlungwana, I. M. Holdsworth, M. Bogoshi, J. A. McIntyre, G. E. Gray, and E. Vardas |
| Journal | International journal of STD & AIDS |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pagination | 95-101 |
| Date Published | 2009 Feb |
| ISSN | 0956-4624 |
| Keywords | Adolescent, Adult, AIDS Vaccines, Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic, Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic, Cohort Studies, Female, Heterosexuality, HIV Infections, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Selection, Risk-Taking, Sexual Behavior, South Africa, Young Adult |
| Abstract | We assessed risk behaviour in a heterosexual cohort undergoing prescreening for the first Phase I/II HIV vaccine trials in Soweto. We developed a survey and collected self-reported data from HIV-negative potential volunteers. Of 488 participants, most were single and approximately half were from households with incomes below the poverty level. Males reported higher rates of heavy alcohol use (P < 0.001), marijuana use (P < 0.001) and other recreational drug use (P < 0.01). Males reported more sex partners than females in the previous six months (P < 0.001), as well as more casual/anonymous partners (P < 0.001) and one-night stands (P < 0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed substance use and male gender predicted higher risk behaviours, including <100% condom use with known/suspected HIV-positive partners, having casual/anonymous partners and having more than two partners. For this population, male volunteers may need increased risk-reduction counselling during Phase I/II trials and additional recruitment methods may be necessary to identify high-risk female volunteers for Phase III efficacy trials. |
| DOI | 10.1258/ijsa.2008.008207 |
| Alternate Journal | Int J STD AIDS |
