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Respondent Driven Sampling for HIV Biological and Behavioral Surveillance in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Abstract

Since 2005, respondent driven sampling (RDS) has been widely used for HIV biological and behavioral surveillance surveys (BBSS) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In this manuscript, we provide a focused review of RDS among hard-to-reach high-risk populations in LAC and describe their principal operational, design, and analytical considerations. We reviewed published and unpublished reports, protocols, and manuscripts for RDS studies conducted in LAC between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2011. We abstracted key operational information and generated summary statistics across all studies. Between 2005 and 2011, 87 RDS studies were conducted in 15 countries in LAC (68 % in South America, 18 % in Mexico and Central America, and 14 % in the Caribbean). The target populations were primarily men who have sex with men (43 %), sex workers (29 %), and drug users (26 %). Study considerations included establishing clear eligibility criteria, measuring social network sizes, collecting specimens for biological testing, among others. Most of the reviewed studies are the first in their respective countries to collect data on hard-to-reach populations and the first attempt to use a probability-based sampling method. These RDS studies allowed researchers and public health practitioners in LAC to access hard-to-reach HIV high-risk populations and collect valuable data on the prevalence of HIV and other infections, as well as related risk behaviors.

Resumen

Desde el 2005, el muestreo dirigido por participantes (o respondent driven sampling, RDS) se ha utilizado ampliamente en Latinoamérica y el Caribe (LAC) para las encuestas de vigilancia biológica y de comportamientos de riesgo para el VIH. En este artículo, ofrecemos una revisión enfocada de los estudios RDS que se han realizado en LAC entre las poblaciones de alto riesgo y difícil de acceder y describe retos operacionales, de diseño, y analíticos y sus consideraciones. Examinamos informes publicados e inéditos, protocolos, y manuscriptos sobre los estudios RDS realizados en LAC entre enero 1, 2005 a diciembre 31, 2011. Resumimos la información operacional clave de todos los estudios y generamos estadísticas sumarias. Encontramos que entre el 2005 al 2011 se realizaron 87 estudios RDS en 15 países de LAC (68 % en Sudamérica, 18 % en México y Centroamérica, y 14 % en el Caribe). Las poblaciones objetivas fueron principalmente hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (43 %), trabajadoras sexuales (29 %) y usuarios de drogas (26 %). Los desafíos principales incluyeron el establecimiento de criterios de elegibilidad, la medición del tamaño de la red social, la toma de muestras para las pruebas biológicas, entre otros. La mayoría de los estudios revisados son los primeros en sus respectivos países que recopilan datos sobre las poblaciones de difícil acceso y el primer intento de utilizar un método de muestreo basado en la probabilidad. Estos estudios RDS permitieron a los investigadores y a los profesionales de salud pública accesar a poblaciones de alto riesgo de difícil acceso y recolectar valiosos datos sobre la prevalencia del VIH y de otras infecciones, así como riesgos de conducta relacionados.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to the organizations and investigators who generously shared their operational information with us, especially Sonia Morales-Miranda, Maria Elena Guardado, and Jerry Jacobson. We also would like to thank Abraham Miranda, Amy Drake, and Gabriela Paz-Bailey for their assistance in the conception and development of this manuscript. JRM is currently supported by a UTHealth Innovation for Cancer Prevention Research Postdoctoral Fellowship (The University of Texas School of Public Health—Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Grant # RP101503). The findings and conclusions of this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA

    Jane R. Montealegre

  2. Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Jane R. Montealegre

  3. Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal St. Ste. 1191, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Lisa G. Johnston

  4. Division of Global HIV/AIDS, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Christopher Murrill & Edgar Monterroso

  5. Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 50 Beale Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA, 94105, USA

    Lisa G. Johnston

Authors
  1. Jane R. Montealegre
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  2. Lisa G. Johnston
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  3. Christopher Murrill
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  4. Edgar Monterroso
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lisa G. Johnston.

Appendix

Appendix

Data sources used for Tables 2, 3 and 4 are given in Table 5.

Table 5 Data sources
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Montealegre, J.R., Johnston, L.G., Murrill, C. et al. Respondent Driven Sampling for HIV Biological and Behavioral Surveillance in Latin America and the Caribbean. AIDS Behav 17, 2313–2340 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0466-4

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