GLOSSARY

The term adolescent refers to an individual aged 10-19 years.

In a research setting, consent refers to the process of learning more about a study, having time to ask questions and get them answered, and making a voluntary choice about whether to participate or not.

A health disparity is a difference in a health outcome by group membership. For example, Black Americans have a shorter life expectancy than white Americans. There is no biological reason to expect racial differences in life expectancy; these differences are due to unfair social processes that create a different outcome for Black Americans compared to white Americans.

A medicine that can be taken by people who are at high risk for contracting HIV to lower chances of getting infected with HIV.

A viewpoint or standard that guides our behavior, and reflects what a person thinks is important in life.

Biomedical research focuses on testing medicines, devices, or other medical treatments in an effort to better prevent and/or treat disease that cause death and sickness in human beings.

Ethics refers to standards of right and wrong. Ethics tell us what we should do to respect others’ rights and to protect them from harm. It also refers to honoring values that are important to people.

IRB is short for Institutional Review Board. The IRB is a group of experts who review all the aspects of a research study to ensure it is ethical.

A process in which regular people (community members) are invited to come together to help solve a policy problem.

A research study that is led by a team of scientists and/or doctors who want to understand if a new or experimental medication or a procedure works. It often involves assigning participants to different groups that receive different treatments. For example, one group would be assigned to receive a medication that is normally used to treat an illness, while the other group receives the new experimental medication. This allows researchers to compare how well each medication works.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system and can be transmitted through sexual activity, sharing needles, and from mother to baby.

A minor is an adolescent who is younger than 18 years-old.

A term used to denote lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and other populations whose sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and reproductive development is considered outside cultural, societal, or physiological norms.