Original content from the Mapping Pathways blog team
In part I of this
two-part blog series, Jim Pickett talks about his experiences at the recently
concluded Microbicides 2012
conference in Sydney and the buzz among advocates and trial designers today.
MP: What were some of
the highlights for you from the conference?
JP: The
conference in itself was great with many interesting and informative
presentations. A highlight for me was that conversations about rectal
microbicides were integrated throughout the conference and not just in one
or two presentations. Rectal microbicides got a lot of attention.
From a Mapping Pathways perspective, we submitted an oral
abstract that was accepted and I think the presentation
I did was well received. We generated a lot of conversations about the work we
have been doing and are planning to do in the upcoming year.
A Canadian colleague presented on their country’s plans for
integrating ARV-based prevention into their national prevention plan and one of
their planned activities is to develop a Canadian version of Mapping Pathways.
This stems from a consultation
in Ottawa I participated in last year – so it was gratifying to see Mapping
Pathways being picked up by others – and presented at an international
conference.
MP: Are there any
major themes that emerged from this conference?
JP: Adherence,
the A-word, was a very big topic throughout the entire conference. We realized
that we have to make HIV-prevention or treatment products people like and will
want to adhere to. We have to figure out how tools like PrEP
and microbicides fit in people’s lives, and funding should be put in place to
better understand what people want, how they have sex, and the role of
pleasure, love and intimacy, among many other “real world” realities. Right
now, only about two percent of the budget of any study is used for the
socio-behavioral aspect – that is, understanding participants’ motivations,
documenting adherence, and exploring the communities they are a part of.
Adherence is especially crucial for PrEP to move into the
real world. Participants in trials come to the clinic for monthly visits that
include a host of prevention services and counseling on condom use and
adherence to the study product. If adherence is an issue in such a controlled
environment, how big of an issue will it be in the real world where they are
not getting that level of intensive support?
A scenario where a trial
has to be stopped because people did not take the drug is a major concern
because it leaves us more questions than answers. We get no answers on the
efficacy of the drug – we are left thinking “what if the person had taken it as
instructed?” We cannot afford to spend
millions on trial after trial where we find out finally that people did not
take the drug as instructed.
Sure, the lack of adherence could be telling us about
acceptability – and if we are making products that people are having a hard
time adhering to, is this product really acceptable? By the same token, this is
an iterative process – what we have is what we have right now, and the only way
to determine if the drug works is if people take it. We can’t improve on the
delivery if we can’t answer that question. It is a bit of a conundrum.
MP: What are some of
the strategies discussed to tackle the issue of low adherence?
JP: The first
step, as mentioned, is to increase funding for the socio-behavioral components
of the trial. We need to do better at finding the “right” trial participants.
Imagine a case where two people are being recruited for an HIV study trial. One
is a person who wants to do the study to the best of his or her abilities and
is motivated by the aims of the study. The other person is motivated by the
access to healthcare and the little monetary incentive provided by
participation in the study. Would both their levels of adherence be the same?
This isn’t to cast judgment on anyone – but really, we need to answer the study
question – and we can’t do that if people don’t follow the study protocol.
Another interesting strategy being discussed more and more
is separating the people who counsel the participants during the trial
(adherence counseling) from the people who record user experiences taking, or
not taking, the study product. If the same person performs these two functions,
participants who form a bond with their adherence counselors during the course
of the trial may be unwilling to disclose exactly how well they adhered to the
program. The end goal is to find better ways to capture the data and make
participants feel completely relaxed about being honest about their user
experience. If they did not take the drugs as instructed, that’s ok. But we
want to know why.
Jim Pickett is the
Director of Prevention Advocacy and Gay Men's Health at the AIDS Foundation of
Chicago. He is chair of IRMA (International Rectal Microbicide Advocates), and
a member of the Mapping Pathways team. Stay tuned for part II of the blog.
[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]
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