Researchers into HIV/AIDS face a gamut of ethical as well as scientific challenges. By viewing the gathering of data as a reciprocal activity between researchers, participants, and their communities, the expert contributors to Case Studies in Ethics and HIV Research bring these challenges to the fore. Studies from the United States and abroad depict the ongoing balance of risks and benefits while analyzing issues that range from confidentiality and informed consent to conducting studies with minority and other marginalized populations, from dealing with government and other funding agencies to ownership of findings. The book¿s 25 collaborators offer readers new templates for devising and conducting studies that are valid, meaningful, and morally sound, with critical implications for all research involving human subjects.

This important work takes as its subject one of medicine's most pressing arenas of ethical debate. There has been a consistent interest in ethical issues arising in the context of HIV research. Ongoing international and multi-site studies and the continuing search for an HIV vaccine continue to prompt examination of how this research is conducted. Also examined are how participants are engaged in the studies and the obligations of the researchers to individual participants and their communities during the course of and following the conclusion of the research. Each chapter of this book is authored primarily by one of the editors (secondarily by the other) and is accompanied by case studies. Each case study has been authored by an HIV/AIDS researcher with experience in the subject matter of the chapter. The case studies focus on an actual ethical dilemma encountered by the researcher, with suggestions on how it can be resolved. Each chapter addresses relevant issues and emphasizes particular ethical principles.

Human Rights, International Guidelines, and HIV Research.- U.S. Regulations and HIV-Related Research.- The Informed Consent Process.- Working with Boards and Committees: ECs, DSMBs, CABs.- Researcher-Participant Relations.- Researcher-Community Relations.- Recruiting for HIV-Related Research.- Clinical Trials.- Observational Studies.- Behavioral Intervention Studies.- Ethical Issues in Multicenter/Multisite Studies.- HIV Research with Children.- HIV-Related Research with Cognitively Impaired Persons.- Studies with Minority Populations.- Research in International Settings.- Activity-Defined Populations.- Training the Next Generation of Researchers.- Training Community.