The Chicago Department of Public Health STD/HIV/AIDS Surveillance, Epidemiology and Research Section proposes to establish an ongoing HIV behavioral surveillance system among groups at increased risk for acquiring HIV infection in Chicago. This system will be part of the CDC National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system.
The aims of this system will be to assess risk behaviors and HIV prevalence among adults at risk for HIV infection. In addition, access to and utilization of HIV prevention programs will be assessed. Data collection will rotate each year for the three years of this cooperative agreement among men who have sex with men (MSM), injecting drug users (IDU), and heterosexuals at increased risk for HIV infection (HET). Activities for each year will consist of conducting formative assessment, implementing a sampling methodology to systematically conduct community-based surveys and HIV antibody testing, data analysis and dissemination. All activities will be conducted in collaboration with local community-based organizations, community planning groups, academic researchers, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are 6 measurable objectives for successfully implementing NHBS activities in Chicago: 1) assembling a steering committee of local HIV planners, academic researchers and members of community-based organizations to guide to development of each cycle; 2) conducting formative assessment, including ethnographic assessment, key informant interviews, and focus groups to ensure that the sample will be broadly representative of each target population and that the project has the support of each community; 3) developing questionnaires, multi-site and site-specific operational plans, and sampling methodology in collaboration with CDC and other funded project sites; 4) conducting interviews and HIV tests with a minimum of 500 eligible participants of each at-risk population; 5) collecting, managing and analyzing survey and HIV test data; 6) presenting findings through publications and community presentations. NHBS will help gain important knowledge that compliments standard HIV/AIDS surveillance by identifying emerging epidemiological trends, directing intervention efforts on populations currently at greatest risk, and evaluating whether current intervention goals are being met. The proposed system will provide a relevant, timely, and high-quality risk and prevention behavior data, an essential component in helping local community planning groups and CDPH to construct evidence-based plans that appropriately direct local HIV prevention and evaluation efforts. ? ? ?
