Is it fear or politics? A qualitative exploration of stakeholders’ views on the failed Ebola vaccine trial in Southern Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3259.ijct20240962Keywords:
Fear or politics, Stakeholders’ views, Ebola vaccine trial, Southern GhanaAbstract
Background: The negative meaning and rumours associated with the conduct of clinical trials regarding their experimental nature adversely affect trust and their conduct. A typical example of the challenges in conducting clinical trial studies was where Ghana was selected to conduct the ebola vaccine trials, which was not successful. This study explored the social and political perspectives on the unsuccessful implementation of the ebola vaccine trial in Ghana.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional exploratory study using qualitative research approach where 31 in-depth individual interviews and Key informant interviews were conducted with participants. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded into themes using Nvivo 12 software to aid thematic content analysis.
Results: The views expressed by participants suggested that lack of stakeholder engagement to create awareness on the Ebola vaccine trial led to doubts on the purpose for the trial. Also, media propaganda, negative influence and the perception that conducting the vaccine trial in Ghana could introduce the Ebola virus into the country created panic and fear, which affected public trust and support for the Ebola vaccine trial conduct in Ghana. Furthermore, political influence linked with site selection and timing for the study in particular, led to mistrust and the subsequent suspension of the trial in Ghana.
Conclusions: Based on the interpretation of our data, we conclude that the indefinite suspension of the Ebola vaccine trial in Ghana could largely be attributed to both fear and political influence as well as misinformation resulting from media propaganda leading to mistrust.
References
Everybody’s business: strengthening health systems to improve health outcomes. WHO‘s Framework for Action. Geneva. Available at: https://www.who.int. Accessed on 20 November 2023.
Viergever RF, Li K. Trends in global clinical trial registration: an analysis of numbers of registered clinical trials in different parts of the world from 2004 to 2013. BMJ. 2015;5(9):e008932.
Rafique Z. Ethical Justification of Involving Human Volunteers in Phase 1 Trials. Bangla J Bioeth. 2017; 8(2):19-22.
Drain PK, Robine M, Holmes KK, Bassett IV. Trial watch: global migration of clinical trials. Nature Rev Drug Discovery. 2014;13(3):166-7.
Puppalwar G, Mourya M, Kadhe G, Mane A. Conducting clinical trials in emerging markets of sub-Saharan Africa: review of guidelines and resources for foreign sponsors. J Clin Trials. 2015;7:23-34.
Lang T, Siribaddana S. Clinical trials have gone global: is this a good thing? PLoS Med. 2012;9(6):e1001228.
Chatio S, Baiden F, Achana FS, Oduro A, Akazili J. Knowledge and Perceptions about Clinical Trials and the Use of Biomedical Samples: Findings from a Qualitative Study in Rural Northern Ghana. PLoS One. 2016;11:4.
Idoko OT, Kochhar S, Agbenyega TE, Ogutu B, Ota MOC. Impact, Challenges, and Future Projections of Vaccine Trials in Africa. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013; 88(3):414-9.
Lurie N, Manolio T, Patterson AP, Collins F, Frieden T. Research as a part of public health emergency response. New Eng J Med. 2013;368(13):1251-5.
Louisa M, Takeuchi M, Steiabudy R, Agus N, Takeuchi M. Current status of phase I clinical trials in Asia: An academic perspective. Acta Med Indones. 2012;44:71-7.
Moorcraft SY, Marriott C, Peckitt C, Cunningham D, Chau I, Starling N, et al. Patients’ willingness to participate in clinical trials and their views on aspects of cancer research: results of a prospective patient survey. BMC Trials. 2016;17:17.
Akazili J, Chatio S, Achana FS, Oduro A, Kanmiki EW, Baiden F. Factors influencing willingness to participate in new drug trial studies: a study among parents whose children were recruited into these trials in northern Ghana. BMC Res Notes. 2016;9:139.
Mbuagbaw L, Thabane L, Ongolo-Zogo P, Lang T. The challenges and opportunities of conducting a clinical trial in a low resource setting: the case of the Cameroon mobile phone SMS (CAMPS) trial, an investigator-initiated trial. BMC Trials. 2011;12:145.
Newman PA, Duan N, Roberts KJ, Seiden D, Rudy ET, Swendeman D, et al. HIV Vaccine Trial Participation Among Ethnic Minority Communities: Barriers, Motivators, and Implications for Recruitment. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2006; 41:210-7.
Bouida W, Grissa MH, Zorgati A, Beltaief K, Boubaker H, Sriha A, et al. Willingness to participate in health research: Tunisian survey. BMC Med Ethics. 2016;17:47.
Ebola Operational Readiness and Preparedness. Available at: https://www.who.int. Accessed on 20 November 2023.
Kummervold PE, Schulz WS, Smout E, Fernandez-Luque L, Larson HJ. Controversial Ebola vaccine trials in Ghana: a thematic analysis of critiques and rebuttals in digital news. BMC Public Health. 2017;17:642.
Ghana says locals used as 'guinea pigs' in Ebola trial. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/. Accessed on 20 November 2023.
Lewicki RJ, Tomlinson EC, Gillespie N. Models of Interpersonal Trust Development: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Evidence, and Future Directions. J Manage. 2006;32(6):991-1022.
Delhey J, Newton K. Who trust? The origins of social trust in seven societies. Eur Soc. 2003;5(2):93-137.
Kasperson RE, Renn O, Slovic P, Brown HS, Emel J, Goble R, et al. The social amplification of risk: a conceptual framework. Risk Analys. 1988;8:177-87.
Creswell JW. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 4th ed. USA: SAGE Publishers; 2014.
Creswell JW, Plano Clark VL. Designing and conducting mixed method research. 2nd ed. USA: SAGE Publishers; 2011.
Green J, Thorogood N. Qualitative Methods for Health Research. London: Sage Publications; 2004.
Guest G, Macqueen K, Namey EE. Applied Thematic Analysis. USA: SAGE Publications; 2012.
Davis TC, Arnold CL, Mills G, Miele L. A Qualitative Study Exploring Barriers and Facilitators of Enrolling Underrepresented Populations in Clinical Trials and Biobanking. Front. Cell Dev Biol. 2019;7:74.
Mwangoka G, Ogutu B, Msambichaka B, Mzee T, Salim N, Kafuruki S, et al. Experience and challenges from clinical trials with malaria vaccines in Africa. Malaria J. 2013;12:86.
Ali S, Egunsola O, Babar ZU, Hasan SS. Challenges of conducting clinical trials in Asia. Int J Clin Trials. 2018;5(4):194-9.
Dombernowsky T, Haedersdal M, Lassen U, Thomsen SF. Criteria for site selection in industry-sponsored clinical trials: a survey among decision-makers in biopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations. BMC Trials. 2019;20:708.
