Guide: Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Guidelines in HIV prevention

The Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Guidelines were developed by AVAC (Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention) and UNAIDS. They provide trial funders, sponsors, and implementers with systematic guidance on how to effectively engage with all stakeholders in the design and conduct of biomedical HIV prevention trials. The guidelines are available in multiple languages. AVAC has also developed  an array of supplementary GPP tools tools.

Download the GPP Guidelines, 2nd Edition

Arabic: تحميل النسخة العربية هنا.
Chinese: 點擊這裡下載中文版。
English: Download here.
French: Télécharger la version française ici.
Khmer: ទាញយកសេចក្ដីរាយការណ៍ជាខ្មែរឯនេះ
Portuguese: Baixar versão em Português aqui.
Russian: Скачать русскую версию здесь.
Spanish: Descargue la versión en español aquí.
Thai: ดาวน์โหลดเวอร์ชั่นภาษาไทยที่นี่
Vietnamese: Tải phiên bản tiếng Việt ở đây.

What tools are available to help with GPP implementation?
AVAC has developed a large set of supplementary tools to help research teams and other stakeholders understand, implement, and monitor the GPP guidelines. Additionally, we help link to other tools available throughout the field for community and other engagement work. More tools are in development to meet the needs of trials and individuals implementing GPP worldwide.

How was GPP developed?
The first edition of the Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for biomedical HIV prevention trials was published in 2007 by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and AVAC. The biomedical HIV prevention field had recently grapplied with controversy and civil society concerns that led to the halting of PrEP efficacy trials planned in Cambodia and Cameroon. Local, national, and international stakeholders raised concerns about these trials, highlighting a disconnect with research teams and divergent perspectives on the ethics of the trials' design. The proposed trials had been designed in accordance with international guidance on ethics and clinical research. However there was no common document or guideline for conducting or evaluating stakeholder engagement--and the controversies helped crystallize the need for such a document, which ultimately became GPP.

The initial edition of GPP was drafted by a multidisciplinary international group including community advocates, research staff, and NGO representatives, convened by UNAIDS and AVAC. A draft version of the guidelines was then further refined through broad consultation involving a wide range of stakeholders.

How is GPP being adapted outside of HIV prevention research?
GPP has been referenced and adapted in a variety of settings, including:

• Critical Path to TB Drug Regimens adapted AVAC’s GPP to develop Good Participatory Practice guidelines for TB Drug Trials in 2012
• In 2012, Thai Treatment Action Group published Stakeholder Input and Recommendations for Good Participatory Practices in Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials in Thailand
• US President Barack Obama’s Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues referenced GPP as a key resource for ensuring ethical research in its 2011 report

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