title: Improvements in Spectrum's fit to program data tool.
abstract: The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS-supported Spectrum software package (Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA) is used by most countries worldwide to monitor the HIV epidemic. In Spectrum, HIV incidence trends among adults (aged 15-49 years) are derived by either fitting to seroprevalence surveillance and survey data or generating curves consistent with program and vital registration data, such as historical trends in the number of newly diagnosed infections or people living with HIV and AIDS related deaths. This article describes development and application of the fit to program data (FPD) tool in Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS' 2016 estimates round.
  
  
  
  In the FPD tool, HIV incidence trends are described as a simple or double logistic function. Function parameters are estimated from historical program data on newly reported HIV cases, people living with HIV or AIDS-related deaths. Inputs can be adjusted for proportions undiagnosed or misclassified deaths. Maximum likelihood estimation or minimum chi-squared distance methods are used to identify the best fitting curve. Asymptotic properties of the estimators from these fits are used to estimate uncertainty.
  
  
  
  The FPD tool was used to fit incidence for 62 countries in 2016. Maximum likelihood and minimum chi-squared distance methods gave similar results. A double logistic curve adequately described observed trends in all but four countries where a simple logistic curve performed better.
  
  
  
  Robust HIV-related program and vital registration data are routinely available in many middle-income and high-income countries, whereas HIV seroprevalence surveillance and survey data may be scarce. In these countries, the FPD tool offers a simpler, improved approach to estimating HIV incidence trends.
authors.affiliation: aCenter for Modeling and Analysis, Avenir Health, Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA bStrategic Information and Monitoring Division, UNAIDS, Geneva, Switzerland cBurnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia dHIV/AIDS Programme, Ministry of Health, Bridgetown, Barbados eDepartment of Epidemiology, Division of Health Planning, Ministry of Health, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Severin G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Mahiane
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.forename: Kelsey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grantham
authors.forename: Shawna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Crichlow
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Caceres
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stover
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012984:Software; D055815:Young Adult