Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance data
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 th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of the International AIDS Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/jia2.26111 |
| _version_ | 1797786200352751616 |
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| author | Diana M. Tordoff Brian Minalga Alfredo Trejo Alic Shook Roxanne P. Kerani Joshua T. Herbeck |
| author_facet | Diana M. Tordoff Brian Minalga Alfredo Trejo Alic Shook Roxanne P. Kerani Joshua T. Herbeck |
| author_sort | Diana M. Tordoff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:04:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c0342e0d8be4d63a84b4732cf8ae571 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1758-2652 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:04:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of the International AIDS Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c0342e0d8be4d63a84b4732cf8ae5712023-07-06T07:16:27ZengWileyJournal of the International AIDS Society1758-26522023-07-0126S1n/an/a10.1002/jia2.26111Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance dataDiana M. Tordoff0Brian Minalga1Alfredo Trejo2Alic Shook3Roxanne P. Kerani4Joshua T. Herbeck5Department of Epidemiology University of Washington Seattle Washington USAFred Hutch, Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination Seattle Washington USADepartment of Political Science University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles California USASeattle University, College of Nursing Seattle Washington USADepartment of Epidemiology University of Washington Seattle Washington USADepartment of Global Health University of Washington Seattle Washington USAAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1002/jia2.26111community engagementHIVinformed consentmolecular HIV surveillancephylogeneticspublic health ethics |
| spellingShingle | Diana M. Tordoff Brian Minalga Alfredo Trejo Alic Shook Roxanne P. Kerani Joshua T. Herbeck Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance data Journal of the International AIDS Society community engagement HIV informed consent molecular HIV surveillance phylogenetics public health ethics |
| title | Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance data |
| title_full | Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance data |
| title_fullStr | Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance data |
| title_short | Lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular HIV surveillance data |
| title_sort | lessons learned from community engagement regarding phylodynamic research with molecular hiv surveillance data |
| topic | community engagement HIV informed consent molecular HIV surveillance phylogenetics public health ethics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/jia2.26111 |
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