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. 2005 Jul;95(7):1266-9.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.037788.

Written parental consent in school-based HIV/AIDS prevention research

Catherine Mathews  1 , Sally J Guttmacher, Alan J Flisher, Yolisa Mtshizana, Andiswa Hani, Merrick Zwarenstein
Affiliations

Written parental consent in school-based HIV/AIDS prevention research

Catherine Mathews et al. Am J Public Health. 2005 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the process of obtaining "active," written parental consent for a school-based HIV/AIDS prevention project in a South African high school by investigating (1) parental consent form return rates, (2) parents' recall and knowledge of the research, and (3) the extent to which this consent procedure represented parents' wishes about their child's involvement in the research.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study comprised interviews with parents of children in grades eight and nine in a poor, periurban settlement in Cape Town.

Results: Within 2 weeks, 94% of 258 parents responded to a letter requesting written consent and of those, 93% consented, but subsequent interviews showed that 65% remembered seeing the consent form. At the end of the interview, 99% consented to their child's participation.

Conclusions: These findings challenge many of the assumptions underlying active written parental consent. However, they should not be used to deny adolescents at high risk of HIV infection the opportunity to participate in prevention trials. Rather, researchers together with the communities in which the research is undertaken need to decide on appropriate informed consent strategies.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Consent obtained through returned forms compared with consent obtained during an interview with parents/guardians.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Fate of consent forms sent to parents/guardians by means of their child.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Global summary of the AIDS epidemic, December 2004. UNAIDS Web page. Available at: http://www.unaids.org/wad2004/report_pdf.html. Accessed January 10, 2005.
    1. Gilbert L, Walker L. Treading the path of least resistance: HIV/AIDS and social inequalities—a South African case study. Soc Sci Med.2002;54:1093–1110. - PubMed
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    1. Protection of Human Subjects. 45 CFR §46 (2001).

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