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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.144832v1 99/9/1562    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by DeJong, J. Articles by Afifi, R. A. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by DeJong, J. Articles by Afifi, R. A. Related Collections Ethics HIV/AIDS Surveys

Jocelyn DeJong, PhD, Ziyad Mahfoud, PhD, Danielle Khoury, MPH, Farah Barbir, MPH and Rema Adel Afifi, PhD

At the time of the study, Jocelyn DeJong and Ziyad Mahfoud were with the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Farah Barbir and Rema Adel Afifi were with the Department of Health Behavior and Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut. Danielle Khoury was with the National AIDS Programme, Ministry of Public Health, Beirut.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Rema Adel Afifi, Department of Health Behavior and Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, PO Box 11-0236, Riad El Solh 1107 2020, Beirut, Lebanon (e-mail: ra15{at}aub.edu.lb). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the Reprints/Eprints link.

Respondent-driven sampling is especially useful for reaching hidden populations and is increasingly used internationally in public health research, particularly on HIV. Respondent-driven sampling involves peer recruitment and has a dual-incentive structure: both recruiters and their peer recruits are paid.

Recent literature focusing on the ethical dimensions of this method in the US context has identified integral safeguards that protect against ethical violations. We analyzed a study of 3 groups in Lebanon who are at risk for HIV (injection drug users, men who have sex with men, female sex workers) and the ethical issues that arose.

More explicit attention should be given to ethical issues involved in research implementing respondent-driven sampling of at-risk populations in developing countries, where ethical review mechanisms may be weak.