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Hi Heidi,
We actually have the opposite situation with our ethics committee. They request sites to provide adequate preventive methods for HIV vaccine trials participants. Their biggest concern , I believe, is how the site will ensure that participants are still able to receive adequate preventive methods after the end of the trial. One way to go is to provide methods that are available in the National Health System, that could be reached by the participants after the end of the study.
Regarding benefits of conducting stakeholder engagement:
Once, we had a rumor about buying blood in one of our studies. Some participants had the impression that the compensation given for transportation and for the time spent on the research was actually to buy their blood and the rumor was quickly spreading within the community surrounding the site. We immediately asked for support from the CAB that was well informed about the study and the reason why compensation was given. Our CAB, together with the site, actively engaged in establishing meetings with local community leaders to explain reasons to compensate participants as discuss strategies to revert the situation. Some of the suggestions were to have forum discussions with participants, others were to discuss within local community meetings. After a couple of months, trust was rebuilt. This could not have been achieved without transparency and mutual understanding between the site and stakeholders.
Hi Anne,
I just finished module 2 but exit button was not working… 🙁
Please let me know if I have to take the knowledge check again and perhaps try the exit button some other day.
Best,
Edna
Thanks, Jessica.
I wonder if others have an experience of a CAB in Africa and how to keep members engaged. We also have a quite regular CAB recruitment but it would be great if we could retain the majority of members for a while (I think at my site is 2 years).
🙂
I agree with Nokulunga.
Those who Do Not suuport probably have misconceptions about the research. Perhaps involving them in discussions, giving more information, accepting their points of view and trying to reach mutual consensus can help their understanding of study procedures and potential long term benefits to the community.
Hi Anne,
I tried changing my profile pic (and the new one is actually uploaded) but it does not seem to be working! If it doesn´t work then you will have to look at me upside down. 🙁
What can I do to fix this problem?
Thanks
Edna
Hi everybody. Sorry, I was a bit silent, crazy deadlines. Back on track.
I have a very strong believe that our community engagement team has a good understanding of the value of stakeholder engagement. It is possible that the definition of stakeholders is not as clear as it should be at the site. Most of team believes that the word “stakeholders” is applicable for NGOs or other local or international organizations but it does not mean that they don´t value the community (it´s just about the terminology).
My site has developed a community engagement plan where activities with our CAB are listed, including monthly meetings. Additionally, community events such as health fairs, plays about HIV vaccines as well as meetings with local leaders and even radio shows in the local radio station are also planned and some already accomplished. We had situations where rumors in the community regarding blood collection were spreading and our CAB helped identifying adequate solutions and provided support. The situation that I just described helped building even more trust between the site and the CAB and vice versa since we had a problem, we asked for support, we got the support and we developed a successful plan according to the CAB orientation. The CAB felt that site trusted in their judgement and followed their suggestions…. this was great….
One problem is attendance to CAB meetings. Sometimes I attend these meetings and from 15 people only 50% show up (usually the same ones). How do we engage CAB members and make them prioritize the meetings and activities?
