Objectives: To evaluate the willingness of medical doctors working at a tertiary hospital to participate in HIV vaccine trials, their perceptions of patients' willingness to participate, and the major reasons underlying these views.
Design: A self-administered, anonymous postal survey conducted in two rounds between May and July 2001.
Setting: A tertiary care hospital in the Western Cape.
Subjects: All medical doctors listed on the hospital's staff directory.
Outcome measures: Willingness to participate in, and to recruit patients into, HIV vaccine trials, and the reasons for this.
Results and conclusions: Of the 289 individuals surveyed, 80% stated either that they would not be willing to participate in HIV vaccine trials or that they were unsure about their participation. Meanwhile, 37% stated that they would be willing to recruit patients into vaccine trials. The most common concerns with trial participation were the possibility of vaccine-induced infection and the possibility of testing positive for antibodies to HIV. The surprisingly low level of willingness to participate in trials in this sample of medical professionals highlights the importance of preparatory work to overcome substantial barriers to HIV vaccine trial participation.