Building Bridges: Community Involvement in Drug and HIV Research Among Minority Populations

SUMMARY

This paper describes community involvement in substance abuse and HIV research. The paper is based on 6 years of research among female prostitutes and drug users in two major metropolitan areas in the United States. The central focus of the paper is on the notion of community involvement and the dynamics involved in research that assume a close collaboration with communities. This is particularly important when studying hard-to-reach populations such as drug users and prostitutes. Based on the previous research, a model of community development was developed that includes: (1) a community identification stage; (2) the establishment of a community advisory board; and (3) the inclusion of community consultants as research staff. In addition, the findings include a discussion of the main advantages and disadvantages of community involvement in research. Specific attention is paid to issues unique to research that use a qualitative methodology.