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Schuster ALR, Bollinger J, Geller G, Little SJ, Mehta SR, Sanchez T, Sugarman J, Bridges JFP. Prioritization of ethical concerns regarding HIV molecular epidemiology by public health practitioners and researchers. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:1436. [PMID: 38811963 PMCID: PMC11137925 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18881-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND HIV molecular epidemiology (HIV ME) can support the early detection of emerging clusters of new HIV infections by combining HIV sequence data routinely obtained during the clinical treatment of people living with HIV with behavioral, geographic, and sociodemographic information. While information about emerging clusters promises to facilitate HIV prevention and treatment efforts, the use of this data also raises several ethical concerns. We sought to assess how those working on the frontlines of HIV ME, specifically public health practitioners (PHPs) and researchers, prioritized these issues. METHODS Ethical issues were identified through literature review, qualitative in-depth interviews, and stakeholder engagement. PHPs and researchers using HIV ME prioritized the issues using best-worst scaling (BWS). A balanced incomplete block design was used to generate 11 choice tasks each consisting of a sub-set of 5 ethical concerns. In each task, respondents were asked to assess the most and least concerning issue. Data were analyzed using conditional logit, with a Swait-Louviere test of poolability. Latent class analysis was then used to explore preference heterogeneity. RESULTS In total, 57 respondents completed the BWS experiment May-June 2023 with the Swait-Louviere test indicating that researchers and PHPs could be pooled (p = 0.512). Latent class analysis identified two classes, those highlighting "Harms" (n = 29) (prioritizing concerns about potential risk of legal prosecution, individual harm, and group stigma) and those highlighting "Utility" (n = 28) (prioritizing concerns about limited evidence, resource allocation, non-disclosure of data use for HIV ME, and the potential to infer the directionality of HIV transmission). There were no differences in the characteristics of members across classes. CONCLUSIONS The ethical issues of HIV ME vary in importance among stakeholders, reflecting different perspectives on the potential impact and usefulness of the data. Knowing these differences exist can directly inform the focus of future deliberations about the policies and practices of HIV ME in the United States.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne L R Schuster
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 1800 Cannon Drive, Columbus, OH, 43016, USA.
| | - Juli Bollinger
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gail Geller
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Susan J Little
- Division of Infectious Disease, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sanjay R Mehta
- Division of Infectious Disease, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Travis Sanchez
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jeremy Sugarman
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - John F P Bridges
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 1800 Cannon Drive, Columbus, OH, 43016, USA
- Department of Health Behavior and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Tordoff DM, Minalga B, Trejo A, Shook A, Kerani RP, Herbeck JT. Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance data. J Int AIDS Soc 2023; 26 Suppl 1:e26111. [PMID: 37408448 PMCID: PMC10323319 DOI: 10.1002/jia2.26111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The widespread implementation of molecular HIV surveillance (MHS) has resulted in an increased discussion about the ethical, human rights and public health implications of MHS. We narrate our process of pausing our research that uses data collected through MHS in response to these growing concerns and summarize the key lessons we learned through conversations with community members. METHODS The original study aimed to describe HIV transmission patterns by age and race/ethnicity among men who have sex with men in King County, Washington, by applying probabilistic phylodynamic modelling methods to HIV-1 pol gene sequences collected through MHS. In September 2020, we paused the publication of this research to conduct community engagement: we held two public-facing online presentations, met with a national community coalition that included representatives of networks of people living with HIV, and invited two members of this coalition to provide feedback on our manuscript. During each of these meetings, we shared a brief presentation of our methods and findings and explicitly solicited feedback on the perceived public health benefit and potential harm of our analyses and results. RESULTS Some community concerns about MHS in public health practice also apply to research using MHS data, namely those related to informed consent, inference of transmission directionality and criminalization. Other critiques were specific to our research study and included feedback about the use of phylogenetic analyses to study assortativity by race/ethnicity and the importance of considering the broader context of stigma and structural racism. We ultimately decided the potential harms of publishing our study-perpetuating racialized stigma about men who have sex with men and eroding the trust between phylogenetics researchers and communities of people living with HIV-outweighed the potential benefits. CONCLUSIONS HIV phylogenetics research using data collected through MHS data is a powerful scientific technology with the potential to benefit and harm communities of people living with HIV. Addressing criminalization and including people living with HIV in decision-making processes have the potential to meaningfully address community concerns and strengthen the ethical justification for using MHS data in both research and public health practice. We close with specific opportunities for action and advocacy by researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana M. Tordoff
- Department of EpidemiologyUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Brian Minalga
- Fred Hutch, Office of HIV/AIDS Network CoordinationSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Alfredo Trejo
- Department of Political ScienceUniversity of California Los AngelesLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Alic Shook
- Seattle University, College of NursingSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Seattle Children's Center for Pediatric Nursing ResearchSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Roxanne P. Kerani
- Department of EpidemiologyUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Public Health – Seattle & King County, HIV/STD ProgramSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Department of MedicineUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Joshua T. Herbeck
- Department of Global HealthUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
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Bollinger JM, Geller G, May E, Brewer J, Henry LM, Sugarman J. Brief Report: Challenges in Obtaining the Informed Perspectives of Stakeholders Regarding HIV Molecular Epidemiology. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2023; 93:87-91. [PMID: 36805407 PMCID: PMC10293093 DOI: 10.1097/qai.0000000000003179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND HIV molecular epidemiology (HIV-ME) is now being used in a variety of ways, including molecular HIV surveillance to help identify and respond to emerging HIV transmission clusters as specified in the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative. However, HIV-ME in general, and its use for cluster detection and response, in particular, raises significant ethical and social concerns, which have spurred vigorous debates. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of information regarding how these potential benefits and concerns are perceived among people living with HIV and people without HIV at an increased risk. SETTING Virtual engagement with US participants. METHODS We rigorously developed a brief informational video about HIV-ME and conducted a series of in-depth interviews with people living with HIV and people without HIV at an increased risk. RESULTS Through extensive stakeholder engagement during the video development process and subsequent in-depth interviews (N = 24), several preliminary findings surfaced. In contrast to the high level of concern raised by some critics of HIV-ME, our data appear to show broad support for it. In addition, we observed conflation of perspectives about HIV-ME with concerns about HIV public health surveillance more generally. CONCLUSION Our experiences reveal substantial communication challenges related to the nature of HIV-ME that need to be overcome to ensure that it is properly understood, which is necessary for meaningfully engaging stakeholders in discussions about its use. Moreover, ongoing, responsive, engagement efforts are critical. Additional systematic data are needed to help inform policy making and practice regarding HIV-ME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juli M. Bollinger
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA
| | - Gail Geller
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA
- School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Janesse Brewer
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Maryland, USA
| | - Leslie Meltzer Henry
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA
- University of Maryland Carey School of Law, Maryland, USA
| | - Jeremy Sugarman
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA
- School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA
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Oster AM, Lyss SB, McClung RP, Watson M, Panneer N, Hernandez AL, Buchacz K, Robilotto SE, Curran KG, Hassan R, Ocfemia MCB, Linley L, Perez SM, Phillip SA, France AM. HIV Cluster and Outbreak Detection and Response: The Science and Experience. Am J Prev Med 2021; 61:S130-S142. [PMID: 34686282 DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.05.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Respond pillar of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative, which consists of activities also known as cluster and outbreak detection and response, offers a framework to guide tailored implementation of proven HIV prevention strategies where transmission is occurring most rapidly. Cluster and outbreak response involves understanding the networks in which rapid transmission is occurring; linking people in the network to essential services; and identifying and addressing gaps in programs and services such as testing, HIV and other medical care, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and syringe services programs. This article reviews the experience gained through 30 HIV cluster and outbreak responses in North America during 2000-2020 to describe approaches for implementing these core response strategies. Numerous jurisdictions that have implemented these response strategies have demonstrated success in improving outcomes related to HIV care and viral suppression, testing, use of prevention services, and reductions in transmission or new diagnoses. Efforts to address important gaps in service delivery revealed by cluster and outbreak detection and response can strengthen prevention efforts broadly through multidisciplinary, multisector collaboration. In this way, the Respond pillar embodies the collaborative, data-guided approach that is critical to the overall success of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Oster
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; U.S. Public Health Service, Atlanta, Georgia.
| | - Sheryl B Lyss
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; U.S. Public Health Service, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - R Paul McClung
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; U.S. Public Health Service, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Meg Watson
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Nivedha Panneer
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Angela L Hernandez
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Kate Buchacz
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Susan E Robilotto
- Division of State HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, Rockville, Maryland
| | - Kathryn G Curran
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Rashida Hassan
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - M Cheryl Bañez Ocfemia
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Laurie Linley
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Stephen M Perez
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; U.S. Public Health Service, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Stanley A Phillip
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Anne Marie France
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; U.S. Public Health Service, Atlanta, Georgia
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