This is an invitation to Two-Spirit, gay, bisexual, queer and other men who have sex with men, including trans men and non-binary people (2SGBQM), across Canada who have an interest in HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and participating in research work on the “next generation” of PrEP options.
“The Future of PrEP is Now” is an emerging community-based research team led by Dr. Darrell Tan (St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto) and CBRC to prepare for the arrival of long-acting PrEP in Canada. A key priority for this project is to promote equitable access to both long-acting and daily/on-demand PrEP, especially among underserved 2SGBQM in Canada (e.g., Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities, and people who use drugs).
Community-Based Research Centre promotes the health of people of diverse sexualities and genders through research and intervention development. CBRC’s core pillarscommunity-led research, knowledge exchange, network building, and leadership developmentposition the organization as a thought leader, transforming ideas into actions that make a difference in our communities. CBRC was incorporated in 1999 and is a non-profit charitable organization. Our main office is located in Vancouver, British Columbia; we also have satellite offices located in Edmonton, Toronto, and Halifax.
We are building a group of Community Advisors to provide input on research projects across Canada, collectively called “The Future of PrEP is Now.” These research projects will form the foundational work for the design of a national demonstration project of long-acting cabotegravir as PrEP that directly responds to the access needs and priorities of individuals experiencing barriers to existing options (i.e. oral PrEP).
We are looking for 6-8 Community Advisors who can work together and with the research team in English. To promote diversity of opinion and perspective, there is a preference for people who live in non-metropolitan areas (preferably also outside of Ontario and British Columbia), and who identify as trans or non-binary, Indigenous, Black, a person of colour, and/or Francophone. We actively recruit people from the communities we serve and partner with. Our team believes that no research about these communities should be developed without the communities in question being involved every step of the way. “Nothing about us without us.”
Community Advisors will provide input on research projects, including how we design the research studies, questionnaires, and reports based on the data. Members will provide suggestions on question content, language, tone, and inclusivity. We do not expect Community Advisors to have any prior research experience or training.
Community Advisors will work closely with the Research Coordinator, Simon Child. All meetings and work will take place virtually by email, phone, or zoom. Each Community Advisor will receive a $25 per hour honorarium. The initial commitment requested is 2-3 hours per month for 1 year with possibility of extension for a second year.
Please submit your statement of interest in your preferred format: email (2-3 paragraphs), video, voice recording, or another format to Simon Child: [email protected]. We will start to review submissions on October 29, 2021, and we will hold follow-up conversations with individuals shortly afterwards.
