Building Trust and Engaging Communities for HIV Prevention Research Globally

Area of Science:

• Vaccinology
• Public Health
• Clinical Research

Background:

• The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) is a major international collaboration for evaluating HIV and TB vaccines.
• Effective community engagement is crucial for the success of HVTN studies, ensuring participant involvement and understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the relationships, roles, and activities within the HVTN Network that ensure optimal community engagement.
• To highlight the importance of community engagement in facilitating research participation.

Main Methods:

• Describing Network relationships and staff responsibilities.
• Implementing key community engagement activities, including Community Advisory Boards (CABs) and consultations.
• Ensuring trained Community Engagement staff are present at all global Clinical Research Sites (CRSs).

Main Results:

• Robust community engagement strategies have been successfully implemented across the HVTN Network.
• These methods have led to rapid enrollment of participants in vaccine trials.
• High retention rates of diverse participant populations have been achieved.

Conclusions:

• Strong community engagement is fundamental to the operational success of the HVTN.
• The described engagement methods contribute significantly to achieving high enrollment and retention in HIV and TB vaccine research.
• Active participation from all stakeholders is vital for dynamic and successful community engagement in clinical research.