Videotape in a Vaccine Education Initiative

Issue: With promising candidate vaccines currently in Phase I and II testing and anticipating before the year 2000 the development and implementation of a large scale Phase III vaccine trial, the need to lay the groundwork for a strategy to inform and prepare communities for such a large scale endeavor is imperative. Prospective volunteers -- persons at high risk of HIV infection, often with limited knowledge of HIV vaccines and clinical trials, and much suspicion of government-funded research -- are certain to view experiences of Phase II trial participants as one of the most important factors in their consideration of whether to enroll in a larger trial.

Project: The HIV Network for Prevention Trials, a network of research study sites established to evaluate the safety and efficacy of multiple HIV prevention strategies, particularly HIV vaccines, has collected video footage of high risk volunteers participating in a phase II vCP205/SF-2 rgp120 vaccine trial in 8 U.S. cities; 6 sites participating in the trial under auspices of the AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Group have also collaborated. Interviews soliciting perspectives, opinions, attitudes, and experiences of staff, study participants, community advisory board members, local opinion leaders were conducted with individuals and in group settings.

Results: From a video resource library and database containing 40-50 hours of video tape documenting the experiences of participants and non-participants we have produced as a first product a 20 min. video for use in community education/outreach activities, for site preparedness activities, and as the basis for future targeted education and training programs.

Lessons Learned: Unexpectedly, early video footage itself was important to the success of the project: screening of brief video clips helped to address some initial staff resistance and discomfort. Also, to an unexpected degree, the opportunity to be filmed has reinforced participants’ motivation and commitment to the study and underlined their pride in being part of a ground breaking effort.

Although videotape is no substitute for live face-to-face educational strategies, including one-on-one counseling, large community meetings, public fora, and small group presentations, or workshops, it can serve as a powerful medium for informing people and raising issues for discussion.

Joy Workman
Abt Associates Inc.
4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 600
Bethesda, MD 20814