Involvement and (potential) influence of care providers in the enlistment phase of the informed consent process: the case of AIDS clinical trials.

This article draws on ethnographic field data collected during an investigation of the informed consent process and AIDS clinical trials. It describes the involvement of care providers (physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants) during the enlistment, or recruitment, phase of the informed consent process. It shows that sometimes care providers are involved in the receipt, evaluation and distribution of information on clinical trials through their interactions with research professionals and patients. It suggests that the involvement of care providers has the potential to influence the informed consent process. Some of the ethical and practice considerations of this are discussed.