The completeness, validity, and timeliness of AIDS surveillance data.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the completeness, validity, and timeliness of the AIDS surveillance system after the 1993 change in the surveillance case definition.


METHODS
To assess completeness of AIDS case reporting, three study sites conducted a comparison of their AIDS surveillance registries with an independent source of information. To evaluate validity, the same sites conducted record reviews on a sample of reported AIDS cases, we then compared agreement between the original report and the record review for sex, race, and mode of transmission. To evaluate timeliness, we calculated the median delay from time of diagnosis to case report, before and after the change in case definition, in each of the three study sites.


RESULTS
After expansion of the case definition, completeness of AIDS case reporting in hospitals (> or = 93%) and outpatient settings (> or = 90%) was high. Agreement between the information provided on the original case report and the medical record was > 98% for sex, > 83% for each race/ethnicity group; and > 67% for each risk group. The median reporting delay after the change was four months, but varied by site from three to six months.


CONCLUSIONS
The completeness, validity, and timeliness of the AIDS surveillance system remains high after the 1993 change in the surveillance case definition. These findings might be useful for programs implementing integrated HIV and AIDS surveillance systems.
Klevens
R M
RM
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, MS E-06, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
Fleming
P L
PL
Li
J
J
Gaines
C G
CG
Gallagher
K
K
Schwarcz
S
S
Karon
J M
JM
Ward
J W
JW
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology