**Published in Progress in Community Health Partnerships (PCHP) 16.2S. All rights reserved.**
ABSTRACT
Background: Birmingham AIDS Outreach (BAO) is one of three study sites partnering with the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (Pitt Public Health or PPH) for a National Institutes of Health-funded randomized controlled trial on a financial management intervention for people with HIV who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the study team used a community-engaged approach to adapt research protocols at this site.
Objectives: To describe a community-engaged approach to restarting NIH-funded research during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Partners at PPH and BAO developed a set of agency-wide COVID-19 policies and procedures for BAO organized around Rhodes’ critical elements of community engagement.
Conclusions: The challenges presented by COVID-19 in the research sector have provided an opportunity to reevaluate study activities and increase the extent to which research is conducted in a community-centered manner.