title: Practical Considerations for Matching STD and HIV Surveillance Data with Data from Other Sources.
abstract: Data to guide programmatic decisions in public health are needed, but frequently epidemiologists are limited to routine case report data for notifiable conditions such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, case report data are frequently incomplete or provide limited information on comorbidity or risk factors. Supplemental data often exist but are not easily accessible, due to a variety of real and perceived obstacles. Data matching, defined as the linkage of records across two or more data sources, can be a useful method to obtain better or additional data, using existing resources. This article reviews the practical considerations for matching STD and HIV surveillance data with other data sources, including examples of how STD and HIV programs have used data matching.
authors.affiliation: Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
authors.forename: Lori M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.affiliation: STD Control Branch, Division of Communicable Disease Control, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA.
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Samuel
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease and Reproductive Health, Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, WA.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Stenger
authors.affiliation: Division of Family Health, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY.
authors.forename: Todd M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Epidemiology, Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing, MI.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Macomber
authors.affiliation: Office of Epidemiology, Division of Disease Prevention, Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, VA; Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Stover
authors.affiliation: STD/TB Surveillance, Ohio Department of Health, Columbus, OH.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wise