 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Beth Canfield, MPH, ASPH/CDC Fellow, National Center for Health Statistics, Room 3015, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 458-4275, boc7@cdc.gov, Catherine A Heaney, PhD, MPH, School of Public Health, Ohio State University, 320 W. 10th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, and Nancy R. Reynolds, PhD, RN, C-NP, College of Nursing, Ohio State University, 368 Newton Hall, 1585 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210.
The rapport that HIV+ women feel with their health care providers may relate to their decision to participate in and continue in a clinical trial. Semi-structured interviews inquiring about women’s trial experiences were conducted with 12 HIV+ women enrolled in clinical trials. The qualitative methods used in this study were guided by grounded theory and used systematic data collection and analysis to derive theoretical frameworks inductively.
One important theme that emerged from the data regarded the dependency of these women on their trial health care providers, from whom most women reported receiving all of their health care. Women tend to depend on providers both for receiving non-stigmatizing social interaction and support as well as for making decisions about their trial participation.
These women have an important, personal relationship with trial staff. Each woman has a special trial nurse who coordinates her trial care. This strong relationship is a great source of support for women interviewed. The comfort, reassurance, and security that their providers, especially their trial nurses, gave were invaluable to these women.
Once a relationship was established (sometimes before), women tended to give complete control over their health to their providers; many women reported that they did whatever their health care providers recommended, even without knowing or understanding the reasons behind this advice. Although such trust is clearly an indication of a positive rapport, it may perpetuate these women’s lack of power, as well as impact the education that women in trials receive. Ethical implications will be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Clinical Trails, Women and HIV/AIDS
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.