title: Usefulness of information from the unlinked anonymous prevalence monitoring programme for HIV in England and Wales: survey of planners of HIV/AIDS services.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether information from the Unlinked Anonymous Prevalence Monitoring Programme for HIV in England and Wales is useful to planners of HIV/AIDS services. The study involved 2 stages: examination of 1997 AIDS Control Act Reports for England and Wales, and a telephone questionnaire survey of local planners of HIV/AIDS services. Forty-eight out of 55 health authorities (87.3%) found information from the programme to be useful in general; 37/55 (67.3%) found the information useful for targeting of health promotion; 35/55 (63.6%) found the information useful for assessing the effectiveness of preventive measures aimed at reducing the spread of HIV; and 28/55 (50.9%) found the information useful for planning of medical or social services. If information from the programme was no longer available, 36/55 (65.5%) said it would make some difference to local planning, although 12/55 (21.8%) said it would make no difference. Local planners were generally supportive of the programme, and complaints were mostly directed at funding and timeliness of the reports.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. a.kessel@lshtm.ac.uk
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kessel
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Watts
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006285:Health Planning; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology