The Completeness, Validity, and Timeliness of AIDS Surveillance Data

Klevens, R.Monina; Fleming, Patricia L.; Li, Jianmin; Gaines, C.Greg; Gallagher, Kathleen; Schwarcz, Sandra; Karon, John M.; Ward, John W.

Next »Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 11, Issue 7 , Pages 443-449, October 2001

The Completeness, Validity, and Timeliness of AIDS Surveillance Data

R.Monina Klevens, dds, mph
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
- Address correspondences to: R. Monina Klevens, D.D.S., M.P.H., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, MS E-47, Atlanta, GA 30333. Address reprint requests to: Office of Communications, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, MS E-06, Atlanta, GA 30333
Patricia L. Fleming, PhD
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
Jianmin Li, dpe
- TRW, Atlanta, GA USA
C.Greg Gaines, PhD
- Louisiana Department of Health and Human Services, New Orleans, LA USA
Kathleen Gallagher, DSc, mph
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA USA
Sandra Schwarcz, md
- San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA USA
John M. Karon, PhD
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
John W. Ward, md
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA

Received 29 August 2000; received in revised form 19 April 2001; accepted 23 April 2001.

Abstract

PURPOSE: 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 (⩾ 93%) and outpatient settings (⩾ 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.

Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Population Surveillance, Evaluation Studies, Reproducibility of Results