TY - JOUR
T1 - Development of a black caucus within the HIV prevention trials network (HPTN)
T2 - Representing the perspectives of black men who have sex with men (MSM)
AU - On behalf of the HPTN Black Caucus
AU - Watson, Christopher Chauncey
AU - Wilton, Leo
AU - Lucas, Jonathan Paul
AU - Bryant, Lawrence
AU - Victorianne, Gregory D.
AU - Aradhya, Kerry
AU - Fields, Sheldon D.
AU - Wheeler, Darrell P.
N1 - Funding Information:
HPTN 061 grant support was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): Cooperative Agreements UM1 AI068619, UM1 AI068617, and UM1 AI068613. Additional site funding ? Fenway Institute CRS: Harvard University CFAR (P30 AI060354) and CTU for HIV Prevention and Microbicide Research (UM1 AI069480); George Washington University CRS: District of Columbia Developmental CFAR (P30 AI087714); Harlem Prevention Center CRS and NY Blood Center/Union Square CRS: Columbia University CTU (5U01 AI069466) and ARRA funding (3U01 AI069466-03S1); Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center CRS and The Ponce de Leon Center CRS: Emory University HIV/AIDS CTU (5U01 AI069418), CFAR (P30 AI050409) and CTSA (UL1 RR025008); San Francisco Vaccine and Prevention CRS: ARRA funding (3U01 AI069496-03S1, 3U01 AI069496-03S2); UCLA Vine Street CRS: UCLA Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases CTU (U01 AI069424).
Funding Information:
Along with incorporating the qualitative component, the HPTN Black Caucus was instrumental in helping to shape the recruitment and retention methods of HPTN 061. Research suggests that innovative, culturally-relevant methods are more successful than traditional methods for recruiting and retaining members of communities of color in research studies [40,55]. In terms of significance, respondents suggested that including Black MSM voices in the design of the study was of paramount importance. They note the following: “You can’t recruit in only traditional ways. We work in social networks using index patients. It’s not necessarily always commonly done, but I also think the way it is done in Black communities is different because it’s not just a Black gay social network.” (Black, Age 39, Community Advocate) “As a collective, we have brought awareness on how to work and recruit participants in our community. The [Black] Caucus has been able to provide suggestions and recommendations to leadership, and those recommendations have been able to shape the study differently.” (Black, Age 50, Social Scientist) The wide range of expertise among HPTN Black Caucus members facilitated the building of relationships and sharing of ideas to help push a Black MSM agenda forward. To support the career development of historically-underrepresented researchers, the HPTN Black Caucus endorsed the establishment of the HPTN Scholars Program, which was supported by funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [32]. The HPTN Scholars Program funds early-career historically underrepresented investigators to participate in HPTN’s domestic and international research agenda, including HPTN 061 [55]. One of the objectives of the HPTN Scholars program is to provide historically-underrepresented investigators an opportunity to chair or co-chair research protocols and develop quantitative or qualitative components for research conducted by the HPTN Network. The development of the HPTN Scholars Program was based on research that found an inadequate representation of investigators of color who led HIV prevention studies that focus on racially and ethnically diverse populations [39].
Funding Information:
Funding: HPTN 061 grant support was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): Cooperative Agreements UM1 AI068619, UM1 AI068617, and UM1 AI068613. Additional site funding – Fenway Institute CRS: Harvard University CFAR (P30 AI060354) and CTU for HIV Prevention and Microbicide Research (UM1 AI069480); George Washington University CRS: District of Columbia Developmental CFAR (P30 AI087714); Harlem Prevention Center CRS and NY Blood Center/Union Square CRS: Columbia University CTU (5U01 AI069466) and ARRA funding (3U01 AI069466-03S1); Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center CRS and The Ponce de Leon Center CRS: Emory University HIV/AIDS CTU (5U01 AI069418), CFAR (P30 AI050409) and CTSA (UL1 RR025008); San Francisco Vaccine and Prevention CRS: ARRA funding (3U01 AI069496-03S1, 3U01 AI069496-03S2); UCLA Vine Street CRS: UCLA Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases CTU (U01 AI069424).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - Black men who have sex with men (MSM) have disproportionate HIV disease burden in the United States. Black MSM have been underrepresented in biomedical research, including HIV clinical trials, due to a myriad of socio-structural, socio-cultural, and psychosocial factors. The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061, a feasibility study of a multi-component HIV prevention intervention for Black MSM in six US cities, incorporated the development and implementation of a Black Caucus as a culturally grounded model for the integration of Black MSM in clinical trials and research in HPTN. Based on a qualitative methodological approach, we describe the formation and implementation of the Black Caucus from the perspective of Black MSM key community stakeholders. Three major themes emerged from the qualitative narratives: (1) the role of the Black Caucus in shaping the HPTN, (2) how the Black Caucus addresses the needs of Black MSM communities pertaining to the influence of race and sexual identity, and (3) socio-cultural needs of Black MSM. These findings have implications for the provision of culturally congruent expertise, community engagement, cultural mistrust, recruitment and retention of Black MSM in HIV clinical trials, culturally-relevant study design and implementation, and the role of developing Black MSM prevention researchers.
AB - Black men who have sex with men (MSM) have disproportionate HIV disease burden in the United States. Black MSM have been underrepresented in biomedical research, including HIV clinical trials, due to a myriad of socio-structural, socio-cultural, and psychosocial factors. The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061, a feasibility study of a multi-component HIV prevention intervention for Black MSM in six US cities, incorporated the development and implementation of a Black Caucus as a culturally grounded model for the integration of Black MSM in clinical trials and research in HPTN. Based on a qualitative methodological approach, we describe the formation and implementation of the Black Caucus from the perspective of Black MSM key community stakeholders. Three major themes emerged from the qualitative narratives: (1) the role of the Black Caucus in shaping the HPTN, (2) how the Black Caucus addresses the needs of Black MSM communities pertaining to the influence of race and sexual identity, and (3) socio-cultural needs of Black MSM. These findings have implications for the provision of culturally congruent expertise, community engagement, cultural mistrust, recruitment and retention of Black MSM in HIV clinical trials, culturally-relevant study design and implementation, and the role of developing Black MSM prevention researchers.
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17030871
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17030871
M3 - Article
C2 - 32028553
AN - SCOPUS:85079083132
VL - 17
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1661-7827
IS - 3
M1 - 871
ER -