Meeting People Where They Are for HPTN 094

October 2022

Jessica Yeager starts each morning by reading her Bible, recovery books, and meditating. Then, she posts all over social media about the HPTN 094 mobile health unit and its location for the day. According to her peers, Yeager is an influential recovery community leader who thrives on innovative change to create purpose, stomp out stigma, and help others heal while delivering the message of hope. Yeager is a peer support services supervisor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. She is also a national and Texas-state-certified peer recovery support specialist. Her job is demanding, requiring her to spend her workdays helping others in the recovery health process to reduce their likelihood of relapsing.

Community Engagement in the Age of COVID-19

July 2020

COVID-19 has affected 213 countries and territories around the world. There have been more than 16 million cases and more than 650,000 deaths worldwide. In a time of fear, uncertainty and doubt, reaching study populations in creative ways has become even more critical given the realities of social distancing and virtual communications.

Introducing New Study Concepts: A Community Engagement Perspective

By HPTN Communications, May 2020

When a new study concept is introduced, a critical component of the process is engaging study communities. Helping community members understand the benefits and risks of study participation allows them to make decisions about how they want to support or contribute to a study’s development. Whether a new drug, treatment method or technology, the messaging process is critical, and consultation at the protocol development stage is essential. The community engagement team at the KEMRI Centre for Global Health, aka Kisumu Clinical Research Site (CRS), in Kisumu, Kenya, regularly engage community stakeholders, including women, youth, female sex workers, and men who have sex with men.