Hiring, training, and supporting Peer Research Associates: Operationalizing community-based research principles within epidemiological studies by, with, and for women living with HIV

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorKaida, Angela
dc.contributor.authorCarter, Allison
dc.contributor.authorNicholson, Valerie
dc.contributor.authorLemay, Jo
dc.contributor.authorO’Brien, Nadia
dc.contributor.authorGreene, Saara
dc.contributor.authorTharao, Wangari
dc.contributor.authorProulx-Boucher, Karène
dc.contributor.authorGormley, Rebecca
dc.contributor.authorBenoit, Anita
dc.contributor.authorBernier, Mélina
dc.contributor.authorThomas-Pavanel, Jamie
dc.contributor.authorLewis, Johanna
dc.contributor.authorde Pokomandy, Alexandra
dc.contributor.authorLoutfy, Mona
dc.contributor.authorRoth, Eric A.
dc.contributor.authorGagnon, Marilou
dc.contributor.authorAbdul-Noor, Rahma
dc.contributor.authorAnema, Aranka
dc.contributor.authoret al.
dc.date.accessioned2020-11-02T23:53:28Z
dc.date.available2020-11-02T23:53:28Z
dc.date.copyright2019en_US
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractBackground A community-based research (CBR) approach is critical to redressing the exclusion of women—particularly, traditionally marginalized women including those who use substances—from HIV research participation and benefit. However, few studies have articulated their process of involving and engaging peers, particularly within large-scale cohort studies of women living with HIV where gender, cultural and linguistic diversity, HIV stigma, substance use experience, and power inequities must be navigated. Methods Through our work on the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS), Canada’s largest community-collaborative longitudinal cohort of women living with HIV (n = 1422), we developed a comprehensive, regionally tailored approach for hiring, training, and supporting women living with HIV as Peer Research Associates (PRAs). To reflect the diversity of women with HIV in Canada, we initially hired 37 PRAs from British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, prioritizing women historically under-represented in research, including women who use or have used illicit drugs, and women living with HIV of other social identities including Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQ2S, and sex work communities, noting important points of intersection between these groups. Results Building on PRAs’ lived experience, research capacity was supported through a comprehensive, multi-phase, and evidence-based experiential training curriculum, with mentorship and support opportunities provided at various stages of the study. Challenges included the following: being responsive to PRAs’ diversity; ensuring PRAs’ health, well-being, safety, and confidentiality; supporting PRAs to navigate shifting roles in their community; and ensuring sufficient time and resources for the translation of materials between English and French. Opportunities included the following: mutual capacity building of PRAs and researchers; community-informed approaches to study the processes and challenges; enhanced recruitment of harder-to-reach populations; and stronger community partnerships facilitating advocacy and action on findings. Conclusions Community-collaborative studies are key to increasing the relevance and impact potential of research. For women living with HIV to participate in and benefit from HIV research, studies must foster inclusive, flexible, safe, and reciprocal approaches to PRA engagement, employment, and training tailored to regional contexts and women’s lives. Recommendations for best practice are offered.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipCHIWOS is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN 262), the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), and the Academic Health Science Centres (AHSC) Alternative Funding Plans (AFP) Innovation Fund. AC received support through a Doctoral Research Award from the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative and the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR). NO and AdP received support from Fonds de Recherche du Quebéc – Santé (FRQS). AK received salary support through a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Global Perspectives on HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health.en_US
dc.identifier.citationKaida, A., Carter, A., Nicholson, V., Lemay, J., O’Brien, N., Greene, S., … On behalf of the CHIWOS Research Team. (2019) Hiring, training, and supporting Peer Research Associates: Operationalizing community-based research principles within epidemiological studies by, with, and for women living with HIV. Harm Reduction Journal, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-019-0309-3en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-019-0309-3
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/12302
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherHarm Reduction Journalen_US
dc.subjectHIV
dc.subjectWomen
dc.subjectCommunity-based research
dc.subjectTraining
dc.subjectPeers
dc.subjectHarm reduction
dc.subjectCommunity engagement
dc.subjectCohort studies
dc.subjectCanada
dc.subjectCHIWOS
dc.subjectCanadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR)
dc.subject.departmentSchool of Nursing
dc.titleHiring, training, and supporting Peer Research Associates: Operationalizing community-based research principles within epidemiological studies by, with, and for women living with HIVen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Kaida_Angela_HarmReductJ_2019.pdf
Size:
1.04 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Faculty and Staff Publications
 
University of Victoria Libraries

We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.