A federally funded Special Project of National Significance (under the Ryan White Act) designed to integrate mental health services into a primary care clinic in the Bronx, NY, included a patient advisory group that was to provide advice to the clinic and to the project operating within that clinic. Group members were HIV-positive clients and, primarily, persons of color. The experience of recruiting and trying to maintain the group yielded many lessons, including: (a)group members are eager to provide advice but the system or project must be willing to respond to the input; (b)group members, although typically unemployed, have countless appointments with providers and staff at city and non-for-profit agencies as well as other obligations; programs or projects must take these factors into consideration; (c)advisory boards for persons with HIV must maintain confidentiality and therefore cannot have the necessary visibility in an environment that is not exclusively servicing persons with HIV; (d) the level of support from the institution needs to be articulated since inception to provide credibility (e)issues of selection of members in a multicultural environment and problems of language, selection of conveners, terms of reference, and incentives for participation presented specific challenges.
Learning Objectives: 1. Attendees will learn what the literature says about consumer advisory groups to funded projects. 2. Participants will learn the barriers to formation and maintenance of a consumer advisory group in the inner city. 3. Participants will learn several ways to maintain an advisory group comprised of HIV-positive persons of color
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Community Participation
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.