Community Engagement to Empowerment: Emphasizing Relationships, Process, Resources, and Context to Strengthen Community Engagement in EHE Research Partnerships.

Abstract

Background: Community-academic partnerships (C-APs) have been central to advancements in HIV research over the past 4 decades and were specifically called for in the national Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. Community engagement in research, particularly in HIV research, plays a critical role in prioritizing community needs in all stages of HIV research and intervention implementation.

Methods: To address the known gaps in building strong C-APs, 2 EHE Implementation Science Consultation Hubs collaboratively facilitated 2 webinars with a panel of expert community leaders. The panel discussions explored (1) what researchers need to know to create equitable C-APs and (2) best practices for navigating power in C-APs. After the webinars, we conducted a quantitative analysis of the 131 EHE research projects partnered with community-based organizations or faith-based organizations between 2019 and 2023 to examine the community engagement in research relationships between EHE academic researchers and implementation partners.

Results: Community panelists identified areas for academic researchers to prioritize, including building relationships with community partners, engaging equitably in partnership processes, sharing use of resources, and paying attention to community history. The quantitative analysis found 58% of EHE researchers are in new collaborations, lasting 2 years or less, with their implementation partner, and have not yet established robust partnerships.

Conclusions: This study identifies strategies for strengthening community engagement in HIV research and sustaining equitable C-APs for existing EHE supplement recipients that can be integrated into future EHE research and implementation strategies to help end the HIV epidemic in the United States.