Authentic Community Engagement and Community-Based Participatory Research for Public Health and Medicine

Abstract

We are now well into the fourth decade since the identification of HIV, and an efficacious vaccine and effective cure remain elusive. As in most places of the world, here in the USA, we continue to face profound challenges in identifying persons with HIV and providing access and ensuring uptake and adherence to available and effective antiretroviral medications that reduce infectivity and the prophylaxes to prevent and reduce associated complications and diseases. The strategies most effective in confronting the HIV epidemic are reducing behavioral risk, seropositive infectivity, and/or biologic vulnerability to infection. Although we have made impressive strides, much more work must be done. In fact, members of some communities have not benefited from the advances that have been made in public health and medicine in general and HIV care and prevention in particular. These communities include racial/ethnic, sexual, and gender minority populations, including American Indians/Alaska Natives; African Americans/blacks; Hispanics/Latinos; sexual and gender minorities such as gay and bisexual men, men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender persons; and low-income and rural communities. These communities continue to be deeply affected by HIV and carry a disproportionate burden of HIV infection and disease. This book is a compilation of authentic, state of the science innovative behavioral HIV prevention interventions that use community engagement and partnership and community-based participatory research (CBPR) to reduce HIV exposure and transmission among vulnerable and neglected communities. In this introductory chapter, we define and describe community engagement and partnership and CBPR and outline key characteristics that emerged across research experiences described within this book.