Development of a Black Caucus within the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN): Representing the Perspectives of Black Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM).
Christopher Chauncey Watson, Leo Wilton, Jonathan Paul Lucas, Lawrence Bryant, Gregory D Victorianne, Kerry Aradhya, Sheldon D Fields, Darrell P Wheeler, On Behalf Of The Hptn Black Caucus
Author Information
Christopher Chauncey Watson: Gilead Sciences, Foster City, CA 94404, USA. ORCID
Leo Wilton: Department of Human Development, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA.
Jonathan Paul Lucas: Science Facilitation Department, FHI 360, Durham, NC 27701, USA.
Lawrence Bryant: Department of Health Administration, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Capella University, Minneapolis, MN 55402, USA.
Gregory D Victorianne: David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA.
Black men who have sex with men (MSM) have disproportionate HIV disease burden in the United States. Black MSM have been underrepresented in biomedical research, including HIV clinical trials, due to a myriad of socio-structural, socio-cultural, and psychosocial factors. The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061, a feasibility study of a multi-component HIV prevention intervention for Black MSM in six US cities, incorporated the development and implementation of a Black Caucus as a culturally grounded model for the integration of Black MSM in clinical trials and research in HPTN. Based on a qualitative methodological approach, we describe the formation and implementation of the Black Caucus from the perspective of Black MSM key community stakeholders. Three major themes emerged from the qualitative narratives: (1) the role of the Black Caucus in shaping the HPTN, (2) how the Black Caucus addresses the needs of Black MSM communities pertaining to the influence of race and sexual identity, and (3) socio-cultural needs of Black MSM. These findings have implications for the provision of culturally congruent expertise, community engagement, cultural mistrust, recruitment and retention of Black MSM in HIV clinical trials, culturally-relevant study design and implementation, and the role of developing Black MSM prevention researchers.
