Solutions for engaging priority populations in HIV cure research: a hybrid Delphi consensus-building process.

John A Sauceda; Anastasia Korolkova; Ali Ahmed; Lidia Rodriguez-Garcia; Bridgette Picou; Fang Wan; Nadra Lisha; Karine Dub&#xe9;

doi:10.1080/25787489.2026.2722774

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Solutions for engaging priority populations in HIV cure research: a hybrid Delphi consensus-building process.

John A Sauceda·Anastasia Korolkova·Ali Ahmed·Lidia Rodriguez-Garcia·Bridgette Picou·Fang Wan·Nadra Lisha·Karine Dubé

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: To achieve consensus on barriers and strategies to improve the engagement of three priority populations - Black and Latino/a/x individuals, cisgender women, and transgender women in HIV cure research. METHODS: We assembled a panel of 54 experts assigned to six groups in a hybrid Delphi process: (1) HIV community members, (2) biomedical researchers, (3) medical providers, (4) funders and private industry members, (5) bioethicists and regulators, and (6) social scientists. Over 18 months, we conducted four iterative survey rounds and three group discussions to identify barriers and strategies to arrive at a consensus on how to engage these priority populations in HIV cure research. RESULTS: For Black and Latino/a/x populations, the panellists identified inadequate outreach and a lack of accessible educational information as primary barriers and emphasised community-driven engagement and partnerships with trusted leaders as key strategies. For cisgender women, logistical hurdles, caregiving responsibilities and time constraints were identified as major barriers, with flexible trial designs and equitable compensation proposed as solutions. For transgender women, the lack of transgender-focused research design, including misrepresentation and exclusion, was identified as a key barrier, while centring transgender-specific needs in study design achieved consensus as the most effective strategy. CONCLUSION: Among all four priority populations, investment in outreach, engagement along the research process, better integration of health needs with research, and enhanced incentives are not novel ideas, but remain obviously ignored in a way that has led to underrepresentation of people in HIV cure research, who carry the greatest burden of HIV in the U.S. SUMMARY: This paper uses a hybrid Delphi process to identify and reach consensus on key barriers and strategies to engage underrepresented groups: Black and Latino/a/x individuals, cisgender women, and transgender women in HIV cure research across the United States.

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Humans HIV Infections Female Delphi Technique Male Biomedical Research Transgender Persons Consensus Hispanic or Latino Delphi process HIV cure research equity racial/ethnic minorities transgender women treatment interruptions Journal Article

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John A Sauceda, Anastasia Korolkova, Ali Ahmed, Lidia Rodriguez-Garcia, Bridgette Picou, Fang Wan, Nadra Lisha, Karine Dubé. 2026-08-25. Solutions for engaging priority populations in HIV cure research: a hybrid Delphi consensus-building process.. https://doi.org/10.1080/25787489.2026.2722774

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Journal Article resource Biomedical Research subject Consensus subject Delphi Technique subject Delphi process subject Female subject HIV Infections subject HIV cure research subject Hispanic or Latino subject Humans subject Journal Article subject Male subject equity subject

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