The BEAT-HIV Collaboratory uses a Community Engagement Group (CEG) model to organize its community engagement efforts. The CEG brings together three independent sets of partners: 1) an established community-based organization (CBO) providing health and social services to people with HIV (Philadelphia FIGHT, fight.org), 2) a cure-directed community advisory board (CAB), and 3) basic, clinical/biomedical, and social scientists. The CEG model is informed by principles of health equity, social justice, reciprocity, participation of underrepresented groups, and integration.
The CEG model was conceptualized and implemented at the inception of the BEAT-HIV Collaboratory in 2016 and continues to evolve. The CEG model provides a platform for acceptable and ethical research development, community preparedness, protection of human participants, outreach, recruitment and retention of participants, information and capacity building, and issues management.
For additional information about the CEG model, please refer to Dubé et al article (2023) in Research Involvement and Engagement: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10248979/