14 Staying connected: Community engagement for enhanced HIV care outcomes

Abstract

Objectives/Goals: Retention in care is vital for people living with HIV. We used human-centered design (HCD) to engage a community-based research panel over a 5-year period, allowing us to incorporate their insights on research guidance and interpretation of findings to investigate correlates of HIV care outcomes. Methods/Study Population: We recruited a diverse panel of individuals who were living with HIV, HIV clinicians, and/or providing non-clinical HIV services in Marion County, Indiana. We conducted biannual sessions using a variety of HCD tools and activities to engage participants. Each session took about three hours, and panelists were compensated for their participation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sessions were initially held virtually. Sessions were designed for project discussion and to facilitate exploration of concerns and challenges facing receipt of HIV services. Our HCD approach put participants in the center of discussion and empowered them to externalize ideas and collaborate meaningfully with our team. Results/Anticipated Results: Since project inception, 48 individuals have joined the panel. Thirty-five are actively engaged, participating in one or more of six sessions conducted to date. We have learned much from the panel. One example is that a residential move might be a risk or protective factor for retention in care and the amount of time one had lived with HIV is a crucial factor. Panel insights have helped guide and prioritize analyses, aided in identification of data missing from our ecosystem, helped interpret results, provided feedback on future interventions, led to a quality improvement project with the local health department, and led to a presentation at a local health equity conference. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Community engagement is essential to impactful and sustainable research. HCD was a successful approach to engage our panel to inform interventions more relevant to the community. We anticipate these methods will be important for others conducting community-engaged research.