Manual Of Operations
Click here for the HPTN Manual of Operations (MOP).
Cross-Network Community Engagement Reporting System
See below for the REDCap User Guide (in multiple languages) and a blank version of the Work Plan Template. The User Guide provides helpful information about each of the forms in REDCap and answers many general questions about using REDCap.
REDCap User Guide - Portuguese
Community Trainings
Click here to see past Community Engagement trainings.
Network Logos & Templates
Click here to download HPTN logo files and templates including posters, Network slide deck, and letterhead.
COVID-19 Resources
Visit this page for updates and resources related to COVID-19.
Click here for the COVID-19 Key Messages for HIV Community Advisory Groups/Community Members & Stakeholders from HANC.
NIAID HIV Language Guide
Click here to view the HIV Language Guide, release by The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in 2020.
HANC
The Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination (HANC) works with the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks funded by the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the intent of creating a more integrated, collaborative and flexible research structure. The networks are an affiliated group of national and international medical research institutions and investigators that conduct clinical HIV/AIDS research to develop safe and effective drugs, prevention strategies, and HIV vaccines. HANC is based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA and has provided leadership and logistical support for cross-network coordination efforts since 2004.
HANC’s mission is to support the science and operations of the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks by increasing efficiency and resource-sharing through the coordination of critical activities across networks and with other research and advocacy partners. Resources, trainings, and learning opportunities offered by HANC are highlighted in the attached flyer and available on the HANC website (www.hanc.info).
Community Research Resources
This section highlights several important topics related to community participation in HIV prevention research.
Research Literacy: Understanding Clinical Trials & Training
A basic understanding of clinical trial concepts and practices is necessary for meaningful community input into research study design and implementation. The more communities understand about the purpose and limitations of research in their communities, the more they will be able to take ownership of the process. Research literate community members can contribute early and directly to protocol development, informed consent, and other study-specific materials and decisions. User-friendly approaches and methods are essential in order to make the science accessible to community members.
Research Ethics
Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to a variety of topics involving scientific research. These include the design and implementation of research involving human experimentation, animal experimentation, scientific misconduct (such as fraud, fabrication of data and plagiarism) and regulation of research.
Research ethics training has been identified as a key training needed by community educators, CAB members, and community partners, who act as voices for the communities in which the research is being conducted. Community representatives need information on ethical research practices and guidance on their roles and responsibilities in the research process.
Stigma and Discrimination
Stigma, the disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs, remains a significant challenge for community educators working in HIV prevention research, given that HIV prevention study communities are often characterized by multiple vulnerabilities. Merely associating with a research project, including participation on a community advisory board(CAB), can result in stigma and/or discrimination. It is important for community educators and advisory board members to recognize and report research-related stigma and social harms to the research team.
Community Engagement in HIV/AIDS Research
Community representatives working with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the NIH increasingly believe that this type of guidance was essential and in 2009 sought to develop recommendations as a way to address good community practice. These recommendations are intended as a tool to help research staff and community representatives expand and deepen existing partnerships, and forge new ones, with the ultimate goal of facilitating effective community engagement in all aspects of clinical trials research.
Male Involvement
Identifying effective strategies for reaching out to men in the community, including male partners of female study participants, is a key activity in building support for HIV prevention research. A larger goal is to encourage men to support women’s health and transform social norms and traditional gender roles that place women at increased risk for HIV infection and other reproductive health problems. By involving male opinion leaders as role models, messages can be diffused through social and community networks. Other popular efforts include reaching men in workplaces, through religious institutions, and other social settings.
- ClinicalTrials.gov provides valuable information on what clinical trials are and answers too many frequently asked questions about aspects of participating in clinical trials.
- Be the Generation HIV Prevention Research (HPR) Training Module is a collaboration of the Legacy Project, FHI 360, HPTN, HVTN, and MTN, provides recent prevention research findings in a curriculum designed to increase scientific literacy of the communities most disproportionately impacted by HIV.
- Basic Scientific Literacy (BSL) Training Module is designed for participants with little knowledge of basic science and research and can be used as a refresher with more knowledgeable participants.is intended to provide information for community members and service and community based organization staff members funded by the Division of AIDS of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health.
- The Research Ethics Training Curriculum for Community Representatives was developed by FHI 360's Office of International Research Ethics specifically to empower community representatives through training and education to act as competent voices for research participants worldwide. The curriculum helps community representatives to understand the research process and their roles and responsibilities as partners of the research team. It also addresses universal principles of research ethics, informed consent, ethics committees and other important issues.
- Understanding and Challenging HIV Stigma: Tooklit for Action was designed for nongovernmental organizations (NGO), community groups and HIV educators to raise awareness and promote actions to challenge HIV stigma and discrimination. Based on research in n Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia, the toolkit contains more than 125 exercises.
- Engender Health’s established its Men As Partners (MAP) program in 1996. This program works with men to play constructive roles in promoting gender equity and health in their families and communities.