HIV EARLY DETECTION STUDY (HEDS)

(HIVNET D01.2 )

WHAT DID WE HOPE TO LEARN FROM THIS STUDY?

This study looked at whether participants in a prevention trial might be willing to be tested for HIV on a more frequent schedule than usual (every two months instead of every three to six months), and whether this can be done efficiently using home specimen collection kits. The study compared two testing kits -- one that uses saliva and another that uses blood spots on blotting paper. Participants mailed the collected specimens directly to the HIVNET Central Laboratory (CL), and chose whether to get test results by phone or face to face at the study site.

WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY?

240 people in the HIVNET Vaccine Preparedness Study (VPS), including men who have sex with men, intravenous drug users, and women at heterosexual risk participated in the study.

WHAT HIVNET SITES WERE INVOLVED IN THE STUDY?

• Denver Department of Public Health, Denver, CO
• Fenway Community Health Center, Boston, MA and Memorial & Miriam Hospitals, Pawtucket and Providence, Rhode Island
• San Francisco AIDS Office, Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc., San Francisco, CA

• University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

HOW WAS THE STUDY CONDUCTED?

VPS participants were chosen at random and invited to learn more about the study. Those who agreed to join the study were trained in the two home specimen collection techniques, and were then assigned at random to collect either oral fluid or blood spot specimen(s). The participants collected specimens and mailed them to the CL for HIV testing to once every two months during the six-month study period.

WHAT WAS THE TIME LINE FOR THE STUDY?

Enrollment began in July 1996 and the study was fully enrolled by mid-November 1996. Participants were followed for six months, and the last study visit occurred in July 1997. The information collected during this study is now being analyzed.