Amsterdam 2015
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| Abstract #2298 - Research to implementation science and practice | ||||
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Session: 26.3: Research to implementation science and practice (Parallel) on Thursday @ 11.30-13.00 in C104 Chaired by Wendee Wechsberg Authors: Presenting Author: Dr. Don Des Jarlais - Mount Sinai Beth Israel, United States |
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| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: To assess the efficiency of community-supported respondent driven sampling (RDS) for recruiting persons who inject drugs (PWID) for a research study n Haiphong, Vietnam, and to consider the implications of RDS for interventions. | ||||
| Method / Issue: Three peer support groups, Friendship Arms (PWID peer-support group), Virgin Flowers (female sex workers peer-support group) and White Sands (MSM peer-support group) under the coordination of a local NGO (Society for the Development of Community Initiatives, SCDI), were full partners in the research. Decisions regarding study procedures were made by consensus among Vietnamese, French and US researchers and the peer support groups. The study site was within the peer-group office, which was renovated to provide for efficient handling of large numbers of subjects. The target sample size was 600 PWID. Nine seeds, including 3 MSM-PWID and 3 FSW-PWID seeds, were used to initiate the study. 16 staff worked at the research site during the study on a typical day of operation: 2 nurses from the Provincial AIDS Committee, 4 interviewers from Haiphong Medical University (HPMU), 2 coordinators from SCDI and HPMU, and 8 staff from peer support groups for administration (coupon handling, honorarium, drug urine tests, and counseling/harm reduction). FSW-PWID and MSM-PWID seeds were encouraged but not required to recruit other members of their groups. | ||||
| Results / Comments: RDS recruiting was particularly efficient, with 580 subjects recruited in three weeks, with up to 50 participants per day from the second wave. Homophily was low (< 0.15) and equilibrium for most subject characteristics was reached in 1 or 2 waves. Even though FSW-PWID and MSM-PWID seed were used, this did not result in oversampling of these groups. An intervention cohort study followed the RDS cross-sectional study. The peer support groups have maintained contact with the cohort participants. Retention has been high (over 90%) and the peer workers have been able to assist cohort participants with obtaining methadone treatment and antiretroviral treatment. This assistance has often required multiple meetings with participants, meetings with their families, and help with obtaining needed administrative documents. | ||||
| Discussion: RDS was originally developed in conjunction with peer driven intervention for PWID. Since then RDS has become a frequently used method for recruiting PWID for research studies. Peer networks have become critical components of many interventions, e.g. in secondary syringe exchange. Integration of peer networks into both research and intervention development, however, is not a standard practice. In Haiphong, involvement of peer support groups in the RDS process resulted in great efficiency in recruiting, high retention in the following cohort study, and increased provision of important services for research participants. Continued integration of strong peer support groups into both research and intervention implementation may serve to overcome some of the problems in reducing HIV transmission among PWID in resource-limited settings. | ||||
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