As Covid vaccines are rolled out, it’s time to shift the focus from a sole emphasis on changing hearts and minds among members of BIPOC communities to ensuring that institutions are trustworthy, ...transparent, and engaged with communities.
In the coronavirus efficacy (COVE) phase 3 clinical trial, vaccine recipients were assessed for neutralizing and binding antibodies as correlates of risk for COVID-19 disease and as correlates of ...protection. These immune markers were measured at the time of second vaccination and 4 weeks later, with values reported in standardized World Health Organization international units. All markers were inversely associated with COVID-19 risk and directly associated with vaccine efficacy. Vaccine recipients with postvaccination 50% neutralization titers 10, 100, and 1000 had estimated vaccine efficacies of 78% (95% confidence interval, 54 to 89%), 91% (87 to 94%), and 96% (94 to 98%), respectively. These results help define immune marker correlates of protection and may guide approval decisions for messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines and other COVID-19 vaccines.
Longstanding social and economic inequities elevate health risks and vulnerabilities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Engagement of BIPOC communities in infectious ...disease research is a critical component in efforts to increase vaccine confidence, acceptability, and uptake of future approved products. Recent data highlight the relative absence of BIPOC communities in vaccine clinical trials. Intentional and effective community engagement methods are needed to improve BIPOC inclusion. We describe the methods utilized for the successful enrollment of BIPOC participants in the U.S. Government (USG)-funded COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN)-sponsored vaccine efficacy trials and analyze the demographic and enrollment data across the efficacy trials to inform future efforts to ensure inclusive participation. Across the four USG-funded COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials for which data are available, 47% of participants enrolled at CoVPN sites in the US were BIPOC. White enrollment outpaced enrollment of BIPOC participants throughout the accrual period, requiring the implementation of strategies to increase diverse and inclusive enrollment. Trials opening later benefitted considerably from strengthened community engagement efforts, and greater and more diverse volunteer registry records. Despite robust fiscal resources and a longstanding collaborative and collective effort, enrollment of White persons outpaced that of BIPOC communities. With appropriate resources, commitment and community engagement expertise, the equitable enrollment of BIPOC individuals can be achieved. To ensure this goal, intentional efforts are needed, including an emphasis on diversity of enrollment in clinical trials, establishment of enrollment goals, ongoing robust community engagement, conducting population-specific trials, and research to inform best practices.
INTERSECTIONALITY AND RISK Heterosexual Black women accounted for 61% of new HIV diagnoses among US women- 16 times the diagnosis rate of White women.2 Other studies indicate that Black women ...experience higher morbidity and mortality when compared with their White counterparts.3 Gender and race are strongly linked to health outcomes including disparities along the HIV care continuum. ...gender and race are often isolated and treated as independent contributors to health outcomes. Addressing current HIVrelated disparities and the impact of these disparities on Black women requires that intersectionality be taken into account.4 Although not a new approach, an intersectional approach (rooted in Black feminist social justice work) to HIV prevention and intervention views race, class, and gender as categories that interact with systems of social and power relations in society.4 Our understanding of the factors that have an impact on the health of Black women is limited when we regard these categories as distinct or static identities and add or subtract them from concepts of interest. Causing further detriment, perceived and experienced stigma resulting from multiple co-occurring devalued social identities pushes many to keep their statuses hidden, places Black women at increased risk of HIV infection, and forces them to stay at home rather than engage in services along the HIV care continuum.
In the PREVENT-19 phase 3 trial of the NVX-CoV2373 vaccine (NCT04611802), anti-spike binding IgG concentration (spike IgG), anti-RBD binding IgG concentration (RBD IgG), and pseudovirus 50% ...neutralizing antibody titer (nAb ID50) measured two weeks post-dose two are assessed as correlates of risk and as correlates of protection against COVID-19. Analyses are conducted in the U.S. cohort of baseline SARS-CoV-2 negative per-protocol participants using a case-cohort design that measures the markers from all 12 vaccine recipient breakthrough COVID-19 cases starting 7 days post antibody measurement and from 639 vaccine recipient non-cases. All markers are inversely associated with COVID-19 risk and directly associated with vaccine efficacy. In vaccine recipients with nAb ID50 titers of 50, 100, and 7230 international units (IU50)/ml, vaccine efficacy estimates are 75.7% (49.8%, 93.2%), 81.7% (66.3%, 93.2%), and 96.8% (88.3%, 99.3%). The results support potential cross-vaccine platform applications of these markers for guiding decisions about vaccine approval and use.
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) answers the call for more patient-centered, community-driven research approaches to address growing health disparities. CBPR is a collaborative research ...approach that equitably involves community members, researchers, and other stakeholders in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each bring. The aim of CBPR is to combine knowledge and action to create positive and lasting social change. With its origins in psychology, sociology, and critical pedagogy, CBPR has become a common research approach in the fields of public health, medicine, and nursing. Although it is well aligned with psychology's ethical principles and research aims, it has not been widely implemented in psychology research. The present article introduces CBPR to a general psychology audience while considering the unique aims of and challenges in conducting psychology research. In this article, we define CBPR principles, differentiate it from a more traditional psychology research approach, retrace its historical roots, provide concrete steps for its implementation, discuss its potential benefits, and explore practical and ethical challenges for its integration into psychology research. Finally, we provide a case study of CBPR in psychology to illustrate its key constructs and implementation. In sum, CBPR is a relevant, important, and promising research framework that may guide the implementation of more effective, culturally appropriate, socially just, and sustainable community-based psychology research.
Good Participatory Practice (GPP) guidelines support and direct community engagement practices in biomedical HIV prevention trials, however no standardized metrics define the implementation and ...evaluation of these practices. Collaboratively, the Community Program staff of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) and the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) created a metric to describe, monitor, and evaluate one component of GPP, recruitment practices, in two HIV monoclonal Antibody Mediated Prevention (AMP) clinical trials, HVTN 703/HPTN 081 and HVTN 704/HPTN 085. Through consultation with community representatives from each clinical research site (hereafter "site(s)"), who made up the study Community Working Groups, recruitment strategy descriptors were developed for both trials to characterize responses to "How did you hear about the AMP study?" The Community Working Groups also helped to define and establish time points that were selected to allow comparisons across sites. Data were collected by 43 of 46 clinical research sites from January 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018. All 43 sites used multiple recruitment strategies successfully, but strategies varied by region. Globally, referrals was the most efficient and effective recruitment strategy as evidenced by the screening: enrollment ratio of 2.2:1 in Africa, and 2.1:1 in the Americas/Switzerland. Print materials were also valuable globally (3:1 Africa, 4.2:1 Americas/Switzerland). In Africa, in-person outreach was also quite effective (2.3:1) and led to the most enrollments (748 of 1186, 63%). In the Americas/Switzerland, outreach was also effective (2.6:1), but internet use resulted in the most screens (1893 of 4275, 44%) and enrollments (677 of 1531, 44%), compared to 12 of 2887 (0.4%) and 2 of 1204 (0.1%) in Africa, respectively. Standardized metrics and data collection aid meaningful comparisons of optimal community engagement methods for trial enrollment. Internet strategies had better success in the Americas/Switzerland than in sub-Saharan African countries. Data are essential in outreach staff efforts to improve screening-to-enrollment ratios. Because the effectiveness of recruitment strategies varies by region, it is critical that clinical research sites tailor community engagement and recruitment strategies to their local environment, and that they are supported with resources enabling use of a range of approaches.
Peer navigation is a promising strategy to link at-risk minority men who have sex with men (MSM) to HIV prevention services including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
Thirty-two Black and 63 Latinx ...HIV-negative MSM living in western Washington completed a survey examining attitudes towards peer navigation and PrEP. Factor analysis derived a score for peer navigator acceptability, and linear regression identified associations with this outcome.
Forty-eight percent were interested in peer navigation. Being insured, higher sexual stigma, and higher PHQ-9 score were associated with higher acceptability, while higher income and having a regular medical provider were associated with lower acceptability. In multivariable analysis, higher sexual stigma predicted higher acceptability, while higher income predicted lower acceptability. Men preferred that peers be matched on sexual orientation, race, age and culture.
Peer navigation interventions to reach minority men should address stigma, focus on lower-income men, and try to match peers to clients to the extent possible.
Given the persistent stigma and discrimination against HIV worldwide, preventive HIV vaccine trials face unique challenges. Negative social impacts (NSIs)-problems that HIV vaccine trial participants ...face in many different spheres of their lives related to trial participation-have received a great deal of attention. Beneficial social impacts (BSIs)-perceived benefits experienced by a participant and resulting from their trial participation-are a critical component of participants' experiences, yet they have received little attention.
All HIV Vaccine Trials Network trial participants for whom social impact data were available-8347 participants in 13 countries who enrolled in 48 phase 1, 2a, and 2b trials.
A cross-protocol analysis to assess self-reported BSIs and NSIs related to participating in a preventive HIV vaccine trial. Data were obtained from 48 completed HIV Vaccine Trials Network vaccine trials from December 2000 to September 2017.
Overall, 6572 participants (81%) reported at least one BSI, and 686 participants (8%) reported 819 NSI events. Altruism/feeling good helping others was the BSI most often endorsed by study participants (43%), followed by receiving risk-reduction counseling (30%). Most NSI events (81%) were reported by US/Swiss participants, and most (79%) trial-related NSIs were negative reactions from friends, family, and partners. Of the NSIs reported, 7% were considered to have a major impact on the participant's quality of life.
Our results underscore the relatively common experiences of BSIs among preventive HIV vaccine trial participants and mirror the results of other studies that find infrequent reports of NSIs.
BACKGROUND:Given the persistent stigma and discrimination against HIV worldwide, preventive HIV vaccine trials face unique challenges. Negative social impacts (NSIs)—problems that HIV vaccine trial ...participants face in many different spheres of their lives related to trial participation—have received a great deal of attention. Beneficial social impacts (BSIs)—perceived benefits experienced by a participant and resulting from their trial participation—are a critical component of participantsʼ experiences, yet they have received little attention.
SETTING:All HIV Vaccine Trials Network trial participants for whom social impact data were available—8347 participants in 13 countries who enrolled in 48 phase 1, 2a, and 2b trials.
METHODS:A cross-protocol analysis to assess self-reported BSIs and NSIs related to participating in a preventive HIV vaccine trial. Data were obtained from 48 completed HIV Vaccine Trials Network vaccine trials from December 2000 to September 2017.
RESULTS:Overall, 6572 participants (81%) reported at least one BSI, and 686 participants (8%) reported 819 NSI events. Altruism/feeling good helping others was the BSI most often endorsed by study participants (43%), followed by receiving risk-reduction counseling (30%). Most NSI events (81%) were reported by US/Swiss participants, and most (79%) trial-related NSIs were negative reactions from friends, family, and partners. Of the NSIs reported, 7% were considered to have a major impact on the participantʼs quality of life.
CONCLUSION:Our results underscore the relatively common experiences of BSIs among preventive HIV vaccine trial participants and mirror the results of other studies that find infrequent reports of NSIs.
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