Hi Laura and others:
I think your responses definitely illustrate the ethical responsibility of researchers to minimize the risks in a trial, such as the potential social, physical, and emotional harm that could result from a false HIV diagnosis due to VISP. In fact, it has risks for trial outcomes as well–if enough participants get tested outside of the trial and potentially unblind themselves and the trial staff, it could pose a big problem with maintaining the integrity of the data being collected! So –yes, it is very imperative to think critically about the range of potential harms and ways of addressing them with stakeholders, such as local health providers and even other trial sites!
