The Centers for Disease Control recently announced the availability of $76 million in grants for the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) program. This program is designed to “monitor the HIV epidemic” and detect changes in HIV-risk behaviors among high-risk population groups with an eye towards improving HIV prevention measures. This round of grants includes an option, based on availability of funds, to extend the research into two additional groups not under regular surveillance: “young MSM (YMSM) [Young Men having Sex with Men] and transgender women.” In this case, “young” is defined as 13-17 years old.
Grant recipients must obtain regulatory approval for all survey activities, including these two lesser studied groups. This includes approval by local Institutional Review Boards (IRB) that oversee the studies. According to the CDC, local IRB members are not affiliated with the CDC. Since CDC staff is not directly involved with research subjects, the local IRBs review/approve protocols for these projects instead of a CDC-led IRB.
