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5.1 Why Collect Program Data?
PCRS data must be collected and used
(1) to assess the behavioral risks for sex and
needle-sharing partners of HIV-infected persons;
(2) to evaluate the effectiveness of the
PCRS program as part of the overall HIV
prevention effort; and (3) to improve how
other HIV prevention activities, interventions,
and services are implemented.
Accurate and consistent data collection is a
critical component for evaluating how effective
the PCRS program is, as well as how well
it enhances the overall HIV prevention intervention (CDC, 1994). Moreover, PCRS data
enable providers to better focus prevention
efforts on those persons most at risk. When
the data reveal information about networks of
people who are having sex or injecting drugs,
the dynamics of HIV transmission can be
better analyzed (Fenton and Peterman, 1997),
and more intensive prevention and education
efforts can be applied for specific high-risk
groups (West and Stark, 1997). To do all this,
however, the collected data must be relevant to
behavioral risks, HIV/AIDS prevalence, and
the demographics of affected communities.
With accurate and consistent data, the staff of
health departments and community-based
organizations and members of HIV prevention
community planning groups can establish an
effective mix of prevention strategies.
5.2 What Data Should Be Collected?
| CDC-funded
PCRS providers
must collect
data that help
answer key
questions
about how
well the PCRS
program is
functioning,
the extent and
quality of services
being
provided, the
degree to
which clients
and their
partners
accept and are
satisfied with
services, and
how PCRS and
other prevention
services
can be
enhanced. |
CDC-funded
PCRS providers
must use
standardized
data collection
tools throughout
the program
that maintain
the privacy or
confidentiality of
the original HIV infected
client
and his or her
partners. |
Any data
collection tool used in a PCRS program should be designed
so that certain core information can be ascertained,
including answers to the following:
- What proportion of HIV-infected
clients is offered PCRS?
- What are the reasons those clients
either reject or accept PCRS?
- What is the range of PCRS services (e.g.,
client referral, provider referral, combinations
of referral approaches) offered to
and accepted by each client?
- How many sex or needle-sharing partners
are identified?
- What is the percentage of partners actually
reached through PCRS, and how
many of those partners are HIV-infected?
Of those partners who are HIV-infected,
how many are being informed of their
infection for the first time?
- What are the demographics (e.g., marital
status, age, sex, race/ethnicity) of the
clients and partners actually served?
- How many partners are offered referral
services? How many receive these services?
In what time frame do they receive
referral services?
And, perhaps most importantly, PCRS program
managers should routinely assess what all
of this information means in regard to how
well PCRS is working for HIV-infected clients,
their partners, and the community at large.
Are clients served well? Are partners gaining
access to services that might not be otherwise
available? Are communities becoming more
supportive of public health efforts? Does
evidence exist that risks are being reduced?
Are other prevention program services better
targeted to communities in need?
The HIV prevention program managers in
each health jurisdiction should decide how
best to collect, analyze, and use PCRS data.
This should be done in a manner that is consistent
with the policies and procedures that they
have developed to safeguard the security of the
data and the confidentiality of the client or
partner (see Section 4.3). Those managers
should keep in mind that misconceptions
about the collection and use of HIV data, in
addition to a general mistrust of publicly
funded agencies, are two of the biggest barriers
to HIV prevention efforts in affected communities.
CDC plans to work with state and local
HIV prevention and STD prevention and
treatment programs to develop proposals for
standardizing the collection and analysis of PCRS data.
Go to Section 6.0 |
