ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Minority engagement in HIV prevention research can improve the process and products of research. Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) to develop capacity-building tools can promote community awareness of HIV prevention, clinical research, and community roles in research. OBJECTIVES: We sought to describe a CBPR approach to curriculum development to increase HIV prevention research literacy among Blacks ages 18 to 30. METHODS: Community members and researchers documented the iterative and participatory nature of curriculum development and lessons learned.Results/Lessons Learned: We used specific strategies to support and verify multi-stakeholder engagement, team building, capacity building, and shared decision making. Objective or formal assessments of baseline capacity, ongoing stakeholder engagement, and reinforcing the value of multiple perspectives can promote further equity in curriculum development between researchers and community members. CONCLUSIONS: The iterative process of shared discussion, development, and consensus building strengthened collaboration between stakeholder groups and produced a stronger, more culturally appropriate curriculum to promote HIV prevention research engagement among young Blacks.
Subject(s)
Black or African American , Community-Based Participatory Research/organization & administration , HIV Infections/prevention & control , Information Literacy , Research/organization & administration , Adolescent , Adult , Capacity Building , Community-Institutional Relations , Cooperative Behavior , Curriculum , HIV Infections/ethnology , Health Promotion/organization & administration , Humans , Minority Groups , Program Development , Young AdultABSTRACT
The rate of HIV infection among African Americans is disproportionately higher than for other racial groups in the United States. Previous research suggests that low level of health literacy (HL) is an underlying factor to explain racial disparities in the prevalence and incidence of HIV/AIDS. The present research describes a community and university project to develop a culturally tailored HIV/AIDS HL toolkit in the African American community. Paulo Freire's pedagogical philosophy and problem-posing methodology served as the guiding framework throughout the development process. Developing the HIV/AIDS HL toolkit occurred in a two-stage process. In Stage 1, a nonprofit organization and research team established a collaborative partnership to develop a culturally tailored HIV/AIDS HL toolkit. In Stage 2, African American community members participated in focus groups conducted as Freirian cultural circles to further refine the HIV/AIDS HL toolkit. In both stages, problem posing engaged participants' knowledge, experiences, and concerns to evaluate a working draft toolkit. The discussion and implications highlight how Freire's pedagogical philosophy and methodology enhances the development of culturally tailored health information.
