Acceptance and Factors Associated With Participation in Functional Cure–Related Trials Among People Living With HIV: A Cross-sectional Study in Southern China

HIV remains a global health challenge,and research efforts directed towards a functional cure require people living with HIV(PLHIV)in-volvement in clinical trials.Our study assessed willingness to participate in HIV functional cure–related clinical trials and associated fac-tors among PLHIV in Guangzhou,China,using a questionnaire survey approach.We analyzed responses from 718 questionnaires,finding that 71.2%were willing to participate in Phase Ⅲtrials,while 51.7%were willing to participate in Phase I trials and 42.9%expressed acceptability for analytic treatment interruption.Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that male PLHIV,those with awareness of functional cure,and PLHIV,who had been on antiretroviral therapy(ART)for less than 1 year,were more willing to partic-ipate in Phase Ⅲtrials.Those with a body mass index greater than 24,and those without resistance to ART drug were more willing to participate in Phase I trials.The major motivations for participation in Phase Ⅲtrials were access to cutting-edge treatments(62.6%)and supporting research(55.3%).Safety was the main concern contributing to hesitancy.Our study revealed a high willingness to participate in HIV functional cure–related trials among PLHIV in Guangzhou,China,and willingness varied across different trial phases and was in-fluenced by multiple factors.This study provides valuable references for future clinical trial recruitment strategies and public health policy formulation.