ABSTRACT
You review a protocol from an investigator who plans to perform research at a drug treatment clinic. The investigator proposes to provide one-ounce bleach bottles to drug-abusing subjects, which they can use to sterilize their needles before each use. (Sharing needles is an important bonding activity among addicts, akin to eating together, but places them at high risk for HIV infection unless the needles are sterilized after each injection.) Is this an ethically acceptable research protocol? What special concerns should IRB members have about reviewing protocols for research related to HIV infection in the special context of a drug treatment clinic?
