Ethical issues in a stage 1 cognitive-behavioral therapyfeasibility study and trial to reduce alcohol use among HIV-infected outpatients in Western Kenya

Abstract

epidemics of both HIV/AIDS and alcohol abuse in sub-Saharan Africa have spurred the conduct of local behavioral therapy trials for these problems, but the ethical issues involved in these trials have not been fully examined. In this paper, we discuss ethical issues that emerged during the conduct of a behavioral intervention adaptation and trial using cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce alcohol use among HIV-infected outpatients in Eldoret, Kenya. The study was performed within our multinational collabo ration, the USAID-Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare Partnership. We discuss relevant ethical considerations and how we addressed them.