Journal of AIDS & Clinical Research

Willingness to Participate (WTP) in HIV Vaccine Trials among Itinerant Female Hairdressers in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Onigbogi Olanrewaju, Onigbogi Modupe and Ojo Omobola

Objectives: Plans are in the pipeline to commence field trials to determine the efficacy of HIV vaccines amongst the Nigerian population. This study was conducted to assess the willingness to participate as subjects in HIV vaccine trials among female hairdressers in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: A hypothethical vaccine candidate was explained to the respondents in the form of lecture modules. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were completed by 247 respondents with age ranging from 16 to 49 years. The questions were in Pidgin English which is an adulterated form of English language widely spoken among the respondents. SPSS version 10 data editor was used to analyze data. Univariate odds ratios (OR) and multivariate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to evaluate the correlates of willingness to participate (WTP) in vaccine trials.

Results: A total of 86 respondents (35%) of the respondents reported that they will be willing to join HIV vaccine trials. Greater willingness was associated with prior sexual experience (OR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.12-1.53), involvement in high risk sexual behavior (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.05-1.62), higher levels of awareness about HIV/AIDS (OR=1.37, 95% CI: 1.14-1.45) and tangible incentives (OR=1.39, 95% CI: 1.02-1.42). Decreased WTP was associated with concerns about physical harm (OR=0.42, 95% CI: 0.21-0.54), social stigmatization (OR=0.51, 95% CI: 0.42-0.68), use of parenteral route for vaccine administration (OR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.53-0.76) and multiple doses of vaccines (OR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.46-0.94).

Conclusion: The level of WTP recorded indicates that much work still needs to be done in the area of educating potential subjects in HIV vaccine trials about the safety of these vaccines. Incentives for would-be subjects should also be a part of the planning to encourage greater participation in these trials.