Closson K, McNeil R, McDougall P, Fernando S, Collins A B, Baltzer Turje R, Howard T, Parashar S
Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
BC Centre for Excellence in HID/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada.
Harm Reduct J. 2016 Oct 7;13(1):26. doi: 10.1186/s12954-016-0116-z.
Community-based HIV, harm reduction, and addiction research increasingly involve members of affected communities as Peer Research Associates (PRAs)-individuals with common experiences to the participant population (e.g. people who use drugs, people living with HIV [PLHIV]). However, there is a paucity of literature detailing the operationalization of PRA hiring and thus limited understanding regarding how affected communities can be meaningfully involved through low-barrier engagement in paid positions within community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects. We aim to address this gap by describing a low-threshold PRA hiring process.
In 2012, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation collaborated to develop a mixed-method CBPR project evaluating the effectiveness of the Dr. Peter Centre (DPC)-an integrative HIV care facility in Vancouver, Canada. A primary objective of the study was to assess the impact of DPC services among clients who have a history of illicit drug use. In keeping with CBPR principles, affected populations, community-based organizations, and key stakeholders guided the development and dissemination of a low-barrier PRA hiring process to meaningfully engage affected communities (e.g. PLHIV who have a history of illicit drug use) in all aspects of the research project. The hiring model was implemented in a number of stages, including (1) the establishment of a hiring team; (2) the development and dissemination of the job posting; (3) interviewing applicants; and (4) the selection of participants. The hiring model presented in this paper demonstrates the benefits of hiring vulnerable PLHIV who use drugs as PRAs in community-based research.
The provision of low-barrier access to meaningful research employment described herein attempts to engage affected communities beyond tokenistic involvement in research. Our hiring model was successful at engaging five PRAs over a 2-year period and fostered opportunities for future paid employment or volunteer opportunities through ongoing collaboration between PRAs and a diverse range of stakeholders working in HIV/AIDS and addictions. Additionally, this model has the potential to be used across a range of studies and community-based settings interested in meaningfully engaging communities in all stages of the research process.
基于社区的艾滋病毒、减少伤害和成瘾研究越来越多地让受影响社区的成员作为同伴研究助理（PRA）参与其中，这些人与参与人群有共同经历（例如吸毒者、艾滋病毒感染者[PLHIV]）。然而，关于PRA招聘实施细节的文献匮乏，因此对于如何通过低门槛参与基于社区的参与性研究（CBPR）项目中的带薪职位来让受影响社区有意义地参与，人们的了解有限。我们旨在通过描述一个低门槛的PRA招聘过程来填补这一空白。
2012年，不列颠哥伦比亚省卓越艾滋病毒/艾滋病中心与彼得博士艾滋病基金会合作开展了一个混合方法的CBPR项目，评估彼得博士中心（DPC）的有效性，该中心是加拿大温哥华的一家综合艾滋病毒护理机构。该研究的一个主要目标是评估DPC服务对有非法药物使用史的客户的影响。按照CBPR原则，受影响人群、社区组织和关键利益相关者指导了一个低门槛PRA招聘过程的制定和传播，以使受影响社区（如有非法药物使用史的PLHIV）有意义地参与研究项目的各个方面。招聘模式分多个阶段实施，包括（1）组建招聘团队；（2）制定和发布招聘信息；（3）面试申请人；（4）选拔参与者。本文介绍的招聘模式展示了在基于社区的研究中聘用吸毒的弱势PLHIV作为PRA的好处。
本文所述的提供低门槛途径以获得有意义的研究工作机会，试图让受影响社区不仅仅是象征性地参与研究。我们的招聘模式在两年内成功招募了五名PRA，并通过PRA与从事艾滋病毒/艾滋病和成瘾领域工作的各种利益相关者之间的持续合作，为未来的带薪就业或志愿机会创造了条件。此外，该模式有可能应用于一系列有兴趣让社区在研究过程的各个阶段都有意义地参与的研究和基于社区的环境中。
