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Community Educators
| Community Educators serve as a bridge between
researchers and the communities where trials are implemented. They help develop
community relations and are liaisons to the sites' Community Advisory Boards
(CABs). Community education is not recruitment; it is a process that helps to
lay the foundation for recruitment and ongoing dialogue between community
members and researchers. |
Educational strategies should focus on:
- increasing awareness of trial participants,
community members infected and affected by HIV, and the community at-large
about HIV prevention research,
- increasing participation in research trials.
- new movements and trends in HIV prevention
(for example, how are studies affected by the rapidly changing landscape
with regard to access to antiretrovirals in resource-poor settings),
scientific concerns in the design and development of clinical trials,
- and HPTN efforts and initiatives.
Community education efforts also include
strategies that increase the knowledge level of researchers and staff about
historical, cultural, social and political issues and needs of the community and
facilitate ongoing reciprocal learning and interaction between community members
and researchers. Before one can embark on study-specific and target
population-specific education that can support trial recruitment, it is
important that the community at large is sensitized about all aspects of HIV
prevention research.
Considerable variations in community education
activities exist among HPTN sites, depending on the type of trial being
conducted, if the site is international or U.S., urban or rural, with
established or emerging community advisory structures, and the resources
available.
Community
Educator Roles
HPTN Community Educators are responsible
for the development and implementation of site-specific community involvement
workplans that outline goals, objectives and scope of work, including community
needs assessment. At the local level, efforts should be undertaken to assess and
identify the appropriate educational strategies and types of educational
materials that need to be developed to accurately educate potential trial
participants and their communities about the research agenda, in collaboration
with local community members. Many have already developed and implemented
creative and culturally appropriate techniques to increase awareness of the
research and to promote understanding of scientific concepts such as
"placebo" and "randomization." For example, educators might
utilize drummers to gather people together, and educational drama to illustrate
how a study participant learns about trial procedures and other technical
aspects of the study, and then poses challenging questions to a counselor.
Educators
are responsible for assuring that community members understand that research is
not provision of care, and at the same time assuring that, through the CAB,
community members have input into study issues such as determining
appropriate and non-coercive incentives for trial participation, as well
as the packages of services that make up the standard of care.
They need to have a firm grasp of ethical considerations, such as making
sure that informed consent of trial participants is truly understood and
voluntary.
Community
Educator Resources
Resources have been developed by the CORE
community program staff to assist community educators with the development,
implementation and evaluation of their site community involvement efforts. They
include:
Community Educators Conference
Calls
HPTN Community Educators meet quarterly by conference call to discuss
cross-cutting and site-specific issues, such as development and implementation
of community involvement workplans, special challenges with regard to
participation in protocol development, CAB involvement in research, training and
technical assistance needs, and best practices. As a result of discussions among
Community Educators of the need for both regional linkages, Community Educators
also meet bi-monthly by conference call within their respective regional working
groups (see RWG page). In
addition, study-specific conference calls have been initiated to bring together
Community Educators from sites participating in the same protocol, such as the
Phase II/III microbicide trial HPTN 035, and include the protocol team chair,
CORE protocol specialist and CORE community program staff.
Community Educator Contacts
Jonathan Lucas, Community Program Manager, FHI
Rhonda White, Community Program Manager,
FHI
Charlyne Rich, Community Program
Administrative Assistant, FHI
Community Educators
Derrick Arnelle
get info
Olga Bogoliubova
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Gail Broder
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Carlos Alberto da Silva
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Julie Davids
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Annet Davis-Vogel
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Janet Frohlich
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Daniel Gondwe
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Denise Goodman
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Sicelo Gumede
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Tena Hilario-Hailey
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Nirmala Hiremath
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Alexandra Issaeva
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William Johnson
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Loretta Jones
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Lydda Kandikole
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Olga Koltsova
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Rosario Leon
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Kang-Mai Liu
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Jonathan Lucas
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Donnata Mabvumbe
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Bonus Makanani
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Agnes Malemia
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Simon Morfit
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Xolani Mpofu
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Janet Mswayo
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Wandoa Mwambu
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Teopista Nakyanzi
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Schola Njambi
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Elana Parker
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Cristina Pimenta
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Linly Seyama
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Emilder Tazvivinga-Chihota
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Tony Wafford
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Steven Wakefield
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Rhonda White
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Thabile Zimu
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Fatima Zulu
get info
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