title: Meaningful engagement of people living with HIV who use drugs: methodology for the design of a Peer Research Associate (PRA) hiring model.
abstract: Community-based HIV, harm reduction, and addiction research increasingly involve members of affected communities as Peer Research Associates (PRAs)-individuals with common experiences to the participant population (e.g. people who use drugs, people living with HIV [PLHIV]). However, there is a paucity of literature detailing the operationalization of PRA hiring and thus limited understanding regarding how affected communities can be meaningfully involved through low-barrier engagement in paid positions within community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects. We aim to address this gap by describing a low-threshold PRA hiring process.
  
  
  
  In 2012, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation collaborated to develop a mixed-method CBPR project evaluating the effectiveness of the Dr. Peter Centre (DPC)-an integrative HIV care facility in Vancouver, Canada. A primary objective of the study was to assess the impact of DPC services among clients who have a history of illicit drug use. In keeping with CBPR principles, affected populations, community-based organizations, and key stakeholders guided the development and dissemination of a low-barrier PRA hiring process to meaningfully engage affected communities (e.g. PLHIV who have a history of illicit drug use) in all aspects of the research project. The hiring model was implemented in a number of stages, including (1) the establishment of a hiring team; (2) the development and dissemination of the job posting; (3) interviewing applicants; and (4) the selection of participants. The hiring model presented in this paper demonstrates the benefits of hiring vulnerable PLHIV who use drugs as PRAs in community-based research.
  
  
  
  The provision of low-barrier access to meaningful research employment described herein attempts to engage affected communities beyond tokenistic involvement in research. Our hiring model was successful at engaging five PRAs over a 2-year period and fostered opportunities for future paid employment or volunteer opportunities through ongoing collaboration between PRAs and a diverse range of stakeholders working in HIV/AIDS and addictions. Additionally, this model has the potential to be used across a range of studies and community-based settings interested in meaningfully engaging communities in all stages of the research process.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.|BC Centre for Excellence in HID/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Closson
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McNeil
authors.affiliation: Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McDougall
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernando
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.|BC Centre for Excellence in HID/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baltzer Turje
authors.affiliation: Positive living society and the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada. sparasha@sfu.ca.|BC Centre for Excellence in HID/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada. sparasha@sfu.ca.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parashar
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000379:methods; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D010379:Peer Group; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D012108:Research Personnel; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Community-based participatory research; Drug users; Employment; HIV/AIDS; Harm reduction