HIV Cure Research Agenda Community Literacy Campaign 

In 2017, the CWRU/UHCMC AIDS Clinical Research Site’s Community Advisory Board (CAB) was informed that several clinical trials would commence in Cleveland, Ohio within what is commonly known as the HIV cure research agenda. The CAB, working with site staff, had previously conducted some HIV cure agenda community education activities, including an HIV Cure 101 workshop and a community survey. Upon consideration, the CAB made a decision to launch a planned, focused and sustained educational campaign for the local community on the HIV cure research agenda.

The Circles Campaign. The purpose of the Circles Campaign is to increase community literacy of the HIV cure research agenda in those Greater Cleveland communities most impacted by HIV. Specific goals of the campaign are to increase the level of knowledge in HIV-impacted communities to empower individuals to provide input into the HIV cure research agenda, to minimize any community-based myths about HIV and the HIV cure research agenda, and to allow individuals to make informed, non-pressured decisions about joining HIV research agenda clinical trials.

Inspiration and direction for the campaign comes from various resources, including the Black AIDS Institute’s When We Know Better, We Do Better initiative, the UNAIDS’ and AVAC’s Good Participatory Practice (GPP) guidelines for HIV prevention trials, and AVAC’s CUREiculum.

Resources
 

 

AVAC’s CUREiculum: www.avac.org/cureiculum is a suite of tools that provides simple, accessible information on HIV cure research, organizing into a systematic format for ongoing or issue-specific learning.

Project Inform’s  HIV Cure Advocacy: www.projectinform.org/category/cure-advocacy
Information, inspiration and advocacy for people living with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.

CAB members meet Timothy Ray Brown (blue shirt, center), the only person known to have been cured of HIV infection, October 2017.