Grant: CIHR Café Scientifique Program

Employing people living with HIV as peer research associates is gaining popularity today as Community Based Organizations and researchers attempt to integrate the greater involvement of people with HIV more meaningfully into new research projects. The HIV community is responding by promoting the development of industry standards for employing workers with HIV to adequately provide support based on the unique needs of this group of workers. Often unskilled in the conventional sense of their job descriptions, peers bring accessibility to the community, rich relationship opportunities and subject relevance, and personal history to their work. Specific supports are required to address the emotional, physical, financial, and personal intensity impact this employment has on these workers. By openly discussing and including the input of peer workers to establish industry standards for support provision that can be adapted to various forms of peer employment, we will offer a valuable resource for researchers, Community organizations, Health Authorities, and others who seek to employ people living with HIV on research projects. This Café Scientifique will be organized to discuss industry support standards for peer research associates living with HIV. Researchers, community organizations, Health Authorities and peer workers themselves will be invited to discuss types of supports currently available for people living with HIV working as research associates. The Café organizing team will present existing examples of support services and ask participants to comment on their effectiveness, and for their ideas on how to address gaps in current support services.