The limits of collaboration: a qualitative study of community ethical review of environmental health research.

Objectives: We assessed the effectiveness of various systems of community participation in ethical review of environmental health research.

Methods: We used situation analysis methods and a global workspace theoretical framework to conduct comparative case studies of 3 research organizations at 1 medical center.

Results: We found a general institutional commitment to community review as well as personal commitment from some participants in the process.

Health-related quality of life in HIV-infected patients: the role of substance use.

HIV infection and substance use disorders are chronic diseases with complex contributions to health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 951 HIV-infected adults receiving care at 14 HIV Research Network sites in 2003 to estimate associations between HRQOL and specific substance use among HIV-infected patients. HRQOL was assessed by multi-item measures of physical and role functioning, general health, pain, energy, positive affect, anxiety, and depression.

Impact of patient race on patient experiences of access and communication in HIV care.

Background: Patient-centered care--including the domains of access and communication--is an important determinant of positive clinical outcomes.

Objective: To explore associations between race and HIV-infected patients' experiences of access and communication.

Design: This was a cross-sectional survey.

Predictors of the degree of drug treatment coverage for injection drug users in 94 metropolitan areas in the United States of America.

Aims: A prior study concluded that drug treatment coverage, defined as the percentage of injection drug users in drug treatment, varied from 1 percent to 39 percent (median 9 percent) in 96 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the United States. Here, we determine which metropolitan area characteristics are associated with drug treatment coverage.

Methods: We conducted secondary analysis of official data, including the number of injection drug users in treatment and other variables, for 94 large US MSAs.

Sexually transmitted infections in rural Madagascar at an early stage of the HIV epidemic: a 6-month community-based follow-up study.

Background And Objectives: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Madagascar have primarily been monitored in selected groups of patients attending STI clinics in major cities as part of the HIV surveillance program in Madagascar.

Goal Of The Study: The aim of the study was to provide complementary data related to STI prevalence in a general rural population.

Study Design: STIs were investigated in 643 subjects aged 15 to 49 years as part of a cross-sectional morbidity study of urogenital schistosomiasis.