This protocol has been approved by the NIAID IRB (03-CC-NO39) This study seeks to inform deliberation and resolution of ethical issues related to biomedical research in developing countries through empirical data obtained from research participants, community members, and opinion leaders in the Rakai District in Uganda. In particular, this study will look at how people involved in research in a developing country perceive the benefits and risks to communities involved in biomedical research. The study will assess people's perceptions of the effect of research on their communities. The Rakai Project is an ongoing prospective cohort study in the Rakai District of southwestern Uganda. It has an intensive population-based HIV/STD epidemiological, behavioral, and intervention research program in 46 communities in the district. A representative sample of men and women will be drawn from communities in the Rakai District to include: 1) people who have participated in Rakai Project research?including both those who have received financial compensation for their participation and those who have not, 2) people who have never been asked to participate in research, 3) people who have declined to participate in research, and 4) people who are perceived as leaders by their communities. Men and women interviewed will come from deep rural, rural, and peri-urban communities. The primary methodology of the study is a quantitative survey administered to individuals; a secondary methodology is qualitative in-depth individual interviews and focus group discussions.
