Community Advisory Board
Overview
The MWCCS National Community Advisory Board (NCAB) includes representative MWCCS study participants from all MWCCS sites. The purpose and mission of the NCAB is to provide the MWCCS community with relevant scientific, psychosocial and policy information regarding HIV-related topics to the national MWCCS agenda. NCAB members are involved in all levels of the MWCCS study, including participation on working group calls, attendance at in-person meetings with scientific investigators, and guidance on the validity and practicality of research studies. New study concepts, manuscripts, and protocol changes are reviewed by the NCAB members prior to implementation in the study. The NCAB develops strategies intended to encourage active participation in study visits and solicits feedback from participants about their research visits and healthcare priorities. NCAB members are true representatives of the MWCCS community.
The Mission Statement of the NCAB is to:
- Provide community, psychosocial and policy input to the national MWCCS agenda.
- Help design mechanism to assure that 100% of MWCCS participants are representative of the women and men who are affected by HIV and those who are at risk for HIV. Help to inform, educate and support these participants over time.
- Help design mechanisms to assure access of HIV-infected/affected women and men to MWCCS research sites and retention of these participants over time.
- Advocate for adequate research funding, to allow the full MWCCS research agenda to be fulfilled.
- Provide support for the site and/or local community advisory boards and encourage involvement at the local level.
- Facilitate translation of MWCCS related information to the community. Represent and be accessible to community members for MWCCS related concerns.
UAB-UMMC NCAB
Participants of the UAB-UMMC MWCCS site will be asked to represent the women and men who are affected by HIV and those who are at risk for HIV. The UAB-UMMC MWCCS NCAB will meet regularly to discuss health-related and study-related topics, while enjoying each other’s fellowship. Two elected UAB-UMMC MWCCS NCAB members will be asked to participate as site representatives at national MWCCS functions. As we go forward to advancing HIV research, we seek to provide a voice to women and men of the MWCCS. Anyone interested in being part of the UAB-UMMC MWCCS NCAB please contact Dr. Zenoria Causey Pruitt (UAB) at zcausey@uab.edu or Ms. Venetra McKinney (UMMC) at vmckinney@uab.edu.
