Behavioral/Social Sciences & Community Outreach Core Research Plan (E)

The Behavioral/Social Sciences and Community Outreach (BSSCO) Core will work with the CFAR Cores to support the aims of the Miami CFAR. Specifically, the BSSCO core will support the development of new HIV investigators, research initiatives, and collaborations among University of Miami (UM) behavioral/social, clinical, and laboratory scientists. The BSSCO Core will assist CFAR investigators in establishing and maintaining strong and bi-directional community partnerships. The core services will build on the expertise, experience and existing research programs of our interdisciplinary BSSCO leadership as well as the strengths of the UM researchers and the previous successes in the DCFAR. The aims of the BSSCO Core are as follows: 1) Promote active involvement of South Florida community based organizations (CBOs) in the Miami CFAR, by expanding the Community Advisory Board (CAB) that was developed under the DCFAR, and by ensuring that the CAB has input in the development, implementation, monitoring, completion, and translation of research projects; 2) Provide investigators with consultation and resources to enhance recruitment and retention of community and clinic-based study participants with attention to hard to find populations, including MSM, sex workers, illicit drug users, and those not in HIV care; 3) Expand the opportunities for behavioral/social scientists to collaborate with clinical and laboratory scientists, providing consultation to assist CFAR investigators as they integrate biological measures into behavioral/social science studies, providing assistance with obtaining biological samples from cohort studies and with the development of interdisciplinary grant applications.