Abstract
To determine operational and analytical characteristics of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) in international settings and to explore factors that may affect recruitment of most-at-risk populations using RDS, we reviewed HIV biological and behavioral surveillance studies that used this method outside of the United States. We identified 123 eligible studies, 59 from Europe, 40 from Asia and the Pacific, 14 from Latin America, seven from Africa and three from Oceania. Studies collectively recruited 32,298 participants between 2003 and 2007; 53% of studies were conducted among injecting drug users, which generally had faster recruitment compared with studies among sex workers. All but 13 studies reached ≥90% of their intended sample size, and six studies failed to reach equilibrium for key variables. This review has shown that RDS is an effective technique, when designed and implemented appropriately, to sample most-at-risk populations for HIV biological and behavioral surveys.
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The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of donor agencies. We would like to thank the individual investigators and organizations that generously shared their information with us or assisted in locating principal investigators (Appendix). We would like to extend our special gratitude to Family Health International; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program; and the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of World Health Organization, which contributed to this project through sharing information from several studies.
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Appendix
Appendix
Resources used for Tables 2–5
Reference number | Data sources | Principal investigator or contact person | Organization/contact information | Related documents |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Co-author personal involvement, study protocol, personal communication | Valerio Bacak | Knowledge Hub for Capacity Building in HIV/AIDS Surveillance, Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, University of Zagreb, Croatia | Protocol: Procjena prevalence HIV-a, HCV-a, HBV-a, sifilisa i rizičnog ponašanja u populaciji intravenoznih korisnika droga u Sarajevu, Banja Luci i Zenici. (2007). UNICEF BiH |
2 | Personal communication | Anneli Uusküla | Department of Public Health, University of Tartu, Estonia | Uuskula, A., Kals, M., Rajaleid K., Abel K., Talu, A., et al. (2008) High-prevalence and high-estimated incidence of HIV infection among new injecting drug users in Estonia: need for large scale prevention programs. Journal of Public Health. Advance Access published Feb. 28, 2008. pp. 1–7 |
Platt et al. (2006) | ||||
3 | Personal communication, unpublished paper | Guy Morineau | Family Health International, Jakarta, Indonesia | Cambodian studies were reported in: Morineau, G., Pisani, E., Neal, J. J., and Saphonn, V. (2007). Respondent driven sampling of men who have sex with men in Cambodia: is the bang worth the buck? Unpublished paper |
MSM studies in 2007 were conducted under: “Dr. Sigit Priohutomo, Centers for Disease Controland Prevention, Ministry of Health (MOH), Government of Indonesia, # 29, Pecetakan Negara, Jakarta, Indonesia | ||||
4 | Co-author personal involvement, field notes, surveillance report | Mohammed J. Dahoma | Zanzibar AIDS Control Program, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Zanzibar, Tanzania | Protocol: Protocol for sampling sex workers, injection drug users and males who have sex with other males using respondent driven sampling in Zanzibar, Tanzania. (2007). Zanzibar, Tanzania: Zanzibar AIDS Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program; New Orleans: Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine |
5 | Conference presentation, personal communication | Sherine Shawky | PI: Dr Nasr El Sayed Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, Cairo, Egypt | Presentation: Behavioral and social sciences research on HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa. The Biological and Behavioral Surveillance Survey: The first round experience in Egypt (PowerPoint presentation). Tunis, Tunisia, May 1–3, 2007 |
Dr. Sherine Shawky: Social Research Center, American University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
6 | Co-author personal involvement, personal communication | Ramesh Paranjap | National AIDS Research Institute, Bhosari, Pune, India | Protocol: Mapping, size estimation and integrated behavioral and biological assessment (IBBA) in high HIV prevalence settings in India. (2006) |
7 | Co-author personal involvement, field notes, study protocol | Mohsen Malekinejad | Iranian Research Center for HIV//AIDS (IRCHA), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Institute for Global Health, University of California, San Francisco, and University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, CA, USA | Protocol: HIV Prevalence and Risk Behavior among Injection Drug Users in Tehran, Iran. (2006). Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of World Health organization. ID number: SGS06/67, EMRO/TDR Web Site: http://www.emro.who.int/tdr |
Malekinejad, M., Mohraz, M., Razai, N., Khairandish, P., McFarland, W., et al. (2008). Enhancing HIV surveillance capacity in Iran: Lessons learned from implementation of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) among injecting drug users. Unite For Sight, Fifth Annual International Health Conference, Building Global Health For Today and Tomorrow. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. April 12–13, 2008 | ||||
8 | Personal communication, final report | Olga Balakireva | Ukrainian Institute for Social Research, Kiev, Ukraine | Protocol: Risk and protective factors in the initiation of injecting drug use: report of a respondent driven sampling study and strategy paper on preventing the initiation of injecting drug use among vulnerable adolescents and young people. (2006). Olexander Yaremenko Unkranian Institute for Social Research, Kiev, Ukraine |
9 | Personal communication | Vivian Hope | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Matthew Hickman, University of Bristol, UK | |
10 | Surveillance report, personal communication | Roland Bani | National AIDS Program, Tirana, Albania | The Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care Project (IMPACT). (2005). 2005 Albania Behavioral and Biological Surveillance Study Report. I. Arlington, VA: Family Health International. Available at: http://www.fhi.org/en/HIVAIDS/pub/survreports/res_BioBSS_Albania2005.htm. Access date: November 29, 2007 |
Stromer et al. (2006) | ||||
11 | Published paper | Simon D. Frost | Department of Pathology and Antiviral Research Center, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA | Frost et al. (2006) |
Pollini, R.A., Brouwer, C.B., Lozada, R.M., Ramos, R., Cruz, M.F. (2008) Syringe possession arrests are associated with receptive syringe sharing in two Mexico–US border cities. Addiction. 103: 101–108 | ||||
12 | Co-author personal involvement, personal communication, published paper, protocol | Lucy Platt, Tim Rhodes | Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behavior, Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK | |
Tkatchenko-Schmidt, E. (2006). Knowledge for Action in HIV/AIDS in the Russian Federation. London: Institute for Health and Human Development, University of East London. Available at: http://www.uel.ac.uk/ihhd/programmes/RussiaKP.htm. Access date: November 29, 2007 | ||||
13 | Personal communication, personal notes, brief conference abstract | Laxmi Bilas Acharya | Family Health International, Katmandu, Nepal | Acharya, L.B., Dhungel, N., and Ross, J.L. (2004). Factors associated to HIV prevalence among male IDUs in the Eastern Terai of Nepal? [Abstract C11318]. International AIDS Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, July 11–16, 2004 |
14 | Zinaida Bodanovskaia | St-Petersburg Non-Governmental Organization of Social Projects “Stellit”, St. Petersburg, Russia | Stromer et al. (2006) | |
15 | Surveillance report | Trinh Quan Huan | Ministry of Health. Hanoi, Vietnam | Ministry of Health. (2006). Results from the HIV/STI Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) in Vietnam 2005–2006. Hanoi, Vietnam: National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology; Arlington, VA: Family Health International |
16 | Published paper | Wantanee Wattana | Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Bangkok, Thailand | Wattana et al. (2007) |
17 | Co-author personal involvement, final report | Aire Trummal | National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia | Final report: Trummal, A., Johnston, L.G., & Lõhmus L. (2007). Men having sex with men in Tallinn: pilot study using respondent driven sampling. Final study report. National Institute for Health Development. Tallinn, Estonia |
18 | Co-author personal involvement, field notes, published paper | Tasnim Azim | HIV/AIDS Programme, ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Johnston et al. (2007) |
19 | Personal communication and published paper | Jinkou Zhao | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global AIDS Program, Beijing, China. Also, Dr. Willi McFarland at San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA, USA | Ma et al. (2007) |
20 | Co-author personal involvement, personal communication | Ivana Bozicevic | Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia | Bozicevic et al. (2008) |
Stulhofer et al. (2007) | ||||
21 | Co-author personal involvement, personal communication, final report | Morales-Miranda Sonia | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, Office for Central America and Panama, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Reporte final: Estudio centroamericano de vigilancia de comportamiento sexual y prevalencia de VIH/ITS en poblaciones vulnerables: hombres que tienen sexo con hombres. (2007). Guatemala City, Guatemala: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, Office for Central America and Panama |
22 | Personal communication | Chinaglia, MLM, Reprolatina Solucoes Inovadoras em Saude | ||
Sexual e Reprodutiva Rua Maria Tereza da Silva, 740, Campinas 13083–820 Brazil | ||||
23 | Personal communication, final report | Edona Deva | Bio-BSS Principal Investigator and Kosovo AIDS Committee, Ministry of Health, Pristina, Kosovo, Serbia | The Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care Project (IMPACT). (2006). Behavioral and Biological Surveillance Study Kosovo, February 2006–July 2006. Arlington, VA: Family Health International. Available at: http://www.fhi.org/en/HIVAIDS/pub/res_IMPACT+Kosovo+Final+Report.htm. Access date: November 29, 2007 |
24 | Personal communication, study protocol (Campinas, Brazil) | Maeve Mello | Oswaldo Cruz Foundation – FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Programa Nacional de DST/Aids, Brasilia, Brazil; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, Brasilia, Brazil | Protocol: Risk factors for HIV infection in the MSM and transgender populations in theMetropolitan Area of Campinas city, Brazil, using Respondent-Driven Sampling (Sept 2005–Feb 2007) |
25 | Co-authors personal involvement, field notes, unpublished paper | Ligia Regina Franco Sansigolo Kerr | Federal University of Ceará, Medical School, Fortaleza, Brazil; Programa Nacional de DST/Aids, Brasilia, Brazil; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, Brasilia, Brazil | Kendall, C., Kerr, L.R.F.S., Gondim, R.C., Werneck, G.L., Hermelinda, R. ., et al. (2007). An empirical comparison of respondent-driven sampling, time location sampling, and snowball sampling for behavioral surveillance in men who have sex with men, Fortaleza, Brazil. Unpublished paper |
26 | Published paper, personal communication | Geraldine Maibani | Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, Papua New Guinea | Yeka et al. (2006) |
27 | Co-author personal involvement, published paper | Willi McFarland | San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA, USA | Kajubi et al. (2007) |
28 | Personal communication | Cíntia Germany | Centro de Estudos de Aids/DST do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa Nacional de DST/Aids, Brasilia, Brazil; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, Brasilia, Brazil | |
29 | Personal communication | Neide Gravato da Silva | Associação Santista de Pesquisa Prevenção e Educação em DST/Aids, São Paulo, Brazil; Programa Nacional de DST/Aids, Brasilia, Brazil; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, Brasilia, Brazil | |
30 | Co-author personal involvement, field notes, unpublished and published papers, conference abstract (IDU, 2004) | Luu Thi Minh Chau | Ministry of Health, Hanoi, Vietnam, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, Hanoi, Vietnam | Johnston et al. (2006) |
Johnston, L.G., Huong. P.T., Hien M.T., Chau L.M., Hau D.H. HIV prevalence and risk factors among injecting drug users in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 16th Annual International Conference for the reduction of Harm among Injecting Drug Users. Abstract 910, p. 111 March, 2005. Belfast, Ireland | ||||
31 | Co-author personal involvement, field notes, unpublished paper | Mickey Chopra | Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa | Johnston, L.G., O’Bra, H., Chopra, Mathews, C., Townsend, L., Sabin, K.,Tomlinson M., Kendall, C. (2008). The associations of HIV risk perception and voluntary counseling and testing acceptance to HIV status and risk behaviors among men with multiple sex partners in a South African township. AIDS and Behavior [in press] |
Chopra et al. (2007) |
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Malekinejad, M., Johnston, L.G., Kendall, C. et al. Using Respondent-Driven Sampling Methodology for HIV Biological and Behavioral Surveillance in International Settings: A Systematic Review. AIDS Behav 12 (Suppl 1), 105–130 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-008-9421-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-008-9421-1