Evaluating HIV prevention effectiveness:  the perfect as the enemy of the good.
There is a need to better understand the effectiveness of HIV-prevention programs. Cluster randomized designs have major limitations to evaluate such complex large-scale combination programs. To close the prevention evaluation gap, alternative evaluation designs are needed, but also better articulation of the program impact pathways and proper documentation of program implementation. Building a plausible case using mixed methods and modeling can provide a valid alternative to probability evidence. HIV prevention policies should not be limited to evidences from randomized designs only.
Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. mlaga@itg.be
Marie
M
Laga
Deborah
D
Rugg
Greet
G
Peersman
Martha
M
Ainsworth
D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000592:standards*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome