Finding Solutions to Moral Dilemmas in Ethically Charged Contexts: the case of Paediatric HIV/AIDS research in Developing Country settings. (360G-Wellcome-095889_Z_11_Z)

The proposed study aims to critically examine the normative implications of solutions arrived at by field-level research actors in the context of paediatric HIV research. This aim will be addressed throughout this study in two complementary ways: 1. A descriptive component (of both the dilemmas experienced and of the solutions devised); 2. A normative component (critically examining and analysing the moral features of the solutions identified by research-actors and their potential applicab ility to other settings). This study will examine the PENTA BREATHER randomised control trial, which aims to assess whether intentionally interrupting the antiretroviral therapies (ART) received by HIV-positive, 8-21 year olds, has a significant impact on their viral load. The solutions devised by field-level research actors involved in this trial will be examined using ethnographic and qualitative techniques alongside philosophically informed case-based approaches. This research will take place at three sites: the UK, Uganda and Brazil. These locations have been chosen to represent a variety of contexts with differing health systems, socio-economic conditions and mortality and morbidity rates.