1) How has social media and online communication affected your trial communication planning and engagement strategies with stakeholders?
We do not have affected from social media and online communication. We concern affected from our participants who post their participating in social media. They do not concern they may break their confidentiality by themself. We have to be careful and warn them because they hide to take a picture during conducting activity in clinic and post on facebook. We could protect them from breaking their confidentiality in the last. Our participants used to post research information to their gay romeo to help staff for recruitment as well. We asked them to take a look their messages before they posted. So we do not have affected from them.
2) Have you ever experienced unexpected issues at your trial site or in your research context? How were they handled? What lessons were learned?
We have 2 issues since we have opened our clinic study. First is a participant was gossiped by their colleagues and boss that she is HIV infected. We got information from her so we contacted with NGOs who take response in that area. She asked medical certification to show to her boss. NGOs went to her bar and provided study information to her colleague without identified she is a participant. Everyone understand and the participant was satisfied.
The other issue is related with business. Someone used our name to discredit a massage parlor. He/she said that our participants who work in there has got HIV infection and warned customers to be careful to come to this massage parlor. Participants informed research staff. Study team informed to NGO who takes response in that area. We went together to explain study information to parlor owner until he understood. The other way, participants asked medical certificate to show to their boss. We explained their right to show or do not show blood result to them and let them made decision to clarify their blood result. A participant chose to do not show his result while the other two chose to show their blood result to their boss. All of them were satisfied the issue management.
