Six Fordham University HIV Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute (RETI) Fellows recently published articles in a special issue of the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics (JERHRE). The special issue highlights recent innovative research and scholarship on ethical issues critical to the responsible conduct of HIV prevention research.

In the introductory article, RETI and Fordham University Center for Ethics Education Director Dr. Celia B. Fisher provided background information on the RETI program, the status of HIV prevention research, and the articles featured in the issue.

The seven papers in this special issue take different approaches to exploring various dimensions of HIV prevention research ethics. The topics selected for study drew from the Institute fellows’ own experiences confronting ethical challenges in the conduct of HIV risk research involving socially marginalized populations. RETI Cohort 1 Fellows Drs. Kristin M. Kostick, Cynthia R. Pearson, Elizabeth Reed, and Lianne Urada contributed to the special issue, along with Cohort 2 Fellows Drs. Brenda L. Curtis and Kristen Underhill. Several of the fellows co-wrote their articles with their RETI faculty mentor.

Three articles employ processes of co-learning to give voice to the experiences, perspectives, and values of individuals who have participated in the fellows’ prior HIV prevention research studies. The next two articles explore research ethics questions from the perspective of female sex workers (FSWs) living in countries with high rates of poverty and HIV infection. The last two papers in this special issue focus a critical scholarly lens on two underexamined areas of research ethics.

“Together, the articles in this special issue identify key ethical crossroads and provide suggestions for best practices that respect the values and merit the trust of research participants,” Dr. Fisher explained in her article.

For more information on the JERHRE special issue, please visit the issue’s website.