Simplified Consent for HIV Vaccine Trials

In the United States, there has already been widespread preparation for the HIV vaccine efficacy trials. Since the first HIV vaccine trial enrolled volunteers in 1988, there have been numerous clinical trials of different vaccine candidates studied through NIAID's vaccine evaluation program. Since the outcome of a prophylactic HIV vaccine trial depends in part on the compliance of volunteers, one major effort that has been made is to determine the readiness of several high-risk populations to participate in vaccine trials. Numerous studies on the feasibility and willingness to participate in an adult HIV vaccine trial have already been conducted.

Increased willingness to participate has been found to be associated with high-risk behaviors, lower education level, and being uninsured or covered by public insurance, as well as higher HIV incidence rates. Baseline knowledge of vaccine trial concepts was low among all of the populations studied.

One population for which a vaccine could be extremely efficacious is high-risk adolescents-- who face a lifetime of dealing with a chronic illness if infected with HIV. Adolescents at risk for HIV and therefore eligible and in need of a vaccine are likely to be low-income, poorly educated, and a disenfranchised population. Moreover, they are likely to have below-average reading and verbal comprehension skills, and difficulty with medical terminology. Issues of literacy and comprehension of informed consent become even more critical when dealing with populations with special vulnerabilities. To achieve truly informed consent for vaccine trials, Hodel (1994) has insisted that further research is crucial in determining what information is meaningful to potential participants in order for them to decide whether to participate. Potential HIV vaccine participants must fully understand complex concepts (e.g., that a person will test positive for HIV, even though they do not have the virus--they are "vaccine positive").

Children and adolescents have developmental limitations on their abilities to comprehend information. With some exceptions, the majority of IRBs require parental consent for research involving minors. Typically, parent or guardian permission for research on minors may not be solicited for research with substantially greater than minimal risk unless there is direct benefit to the minor with a risk-benefit ratio at least as good as available alternatives. There are also special considerations for involvement of adolescents in research where needs of parents and of the adolescents may conflict in terms of concerns about privacy.

Studies have suggested that simplifying the language and using short sentences have enhanced understanding. Other studies support the use of visual aids to enhance adolescent understanding and to enable adolescents to give truly informed consent.