Scholarlink

Background <p>Nurse counselors play a pivotal role in recruiting and facilitating the retention of volunteers in HIV vaccine trials. They act as the primary interface between the research team and volunteers, typically tasked with educating, supporting, and guiding participants through the trial process, including adherence to the study protocol for care and safety. There is limited research on the series of experiences and challenges faced by nurse counselors during the recruitment and retention of volunteers in HIV vaccine trials. This study aimed to describe the experiences of nurse counselors in recruiting and retaining female sex workers in the HIV PrEP and Vaccine (PrEPVacc) trial.</p> Methods <p>This employed a descriptive qualitative study design nested within the larger phase IIb three-arm, two-stage HIV prophylactic vaccine trial conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The qualitative data were collected among three nurse counselors and one field worker who participated in 16 debrief sessions. The participants were purposefully selected due to their roles and responsibilities in the recruitment and retention of volunteers. The audio-recorded sessions were transcribed verbatim, and the content analysis approach was applied.</p> Findings <p>The study revealed that nurse counselors felt responsible and honored through enhancing volunteers’ recruitment and enrollment, ensuring retention, and facilitating trial interventions. The availability of a supportive trial environment, engagement meetings, collaboration among staff and volunteers, good staff performance, and volunteers’ positive attitude were the qualities for effective management of volunteers in the trial. However, the participants described encountering barriers to trial recruitment and retention, such as volunteers’ noncompliance with trial requirements, perceived lack of honesty, personal life and family resistance, stigma, and social perception.</p> Conclusion <p>The nurse counselors can encounter great turmoil while ensuring recruitment and retention in an HIV vaccine trial. Despite the challenges, volunteer engagement and adherence to study protocol are important for maintaining the continuity of trial procedures over time. Collaboration among staff and engagement of volunteers are essential to enhancing retention until the end of the study.</p> Trial registration <p>The trial was registered with the US clinicaltrials.gov on 29 September 2021 and can be found at <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04066881">https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04066881</a>. Registration number: NCT04066881.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Nurse counselors’ experiences of recruitment and retention of female sex workers in a HIV vaccine trial: a qualitative study from urban Tanzania

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月6日

查看全文
  • Masunga K. Iseselo,
  • Edith A. M. Tarimo,
  • Joel S. Ambikile,
  • Gift G. Lukumay,
  • Patricia Munseri,
  • Mohamed Bakari,
  • Eligius Lyamuya,
  • Said Aboud

摘要

Background

Nurse counselors play a pivotal role in recruiting and facilitating the retention of volunteers in HIV vaccine trials. They act as the primary interface between the research team and volunteers, typically tasked with educating, supporting, and guiding participants through the trial process, including adherence to the study protocol for care and safety. There is limited research on the series of experiences and challenges faced by nurse counselors during the recruitment and retention of volunteers in HIV vaccine trials. This study aimed to describe the experiences of nurse counselors in recruiting and retaining female sex workers in the HIV PrEP and Vaccine (PrEPVacc) trial.

Methods

This employed a descriptive qualitative study design nested within the larger phase IIb three-arm, two-stage HIV prophylactic vaccine trial conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The qualitative data were collected among three nurse counselors and one field worker who participated in 16 debrief sessions. The participants were purposefully selected due to their roles and responsibilities in the recruitment and retention of volunteers. The audio-recorded sessions were transcribed verbatim, and the content analysis approach was applied.

Findings

The study revealed that nurse counselors felt responsible and honored through enhancing volunteers’ recruitment and enrollment, ensuring retention, and facilitating trial interventions. The availability of a supportive trial environment, engagement meetings, collaboration among staff and volunteers, good staff performance, and volunteers’ positive attitude were the qualities for effective management of volunteers in the trial. However, the participants described encountering barriers to trial recruitment and retention, such as volunteers’ noncompliance with trial requirements, perceived lack of honesty, personal life and family resistance, stigma, and social perception.

Conclusion

The nurse counselors can encounter great turmoil while ensuring recruitment and retention in an HIV vaccine trial. Despite the challenges, volunteer engagement and adherence to study protocol are important for maintaining the continuity of trial procedures over time. Collaboration among staff and engagement of volunteers are essential to enhancing retention until the end of the study.

Trial registration

The trial was registered with the US clinicaltrials.gov on 29 September 2021 and can be found at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04066881. Registration number: NCT04066881.