Using HIV Surveillance Data to Support the HIV Care Continuum
Data to Care (D2C) is a public health strategy that uses HIV surveillance and other data to support the HIV Care Continuum, by identifying persons living with HIV who are in need of HIV medical care or other services and facilitating linkage to these services. The primary goals of D2C are to increase the number of persons with diagnosed HIV who are engaged in HIV medical care and to increase the number of HIV-diagnosed persons who are virally suppressed, which are consistent with national HIV prevention goals (https://www.hiv.gov/federal-response/national-hiv-aids-strategy/overview).
Jurisdictions should include the active use of HIV
surveillance data as part of their comprehensive strategy for linkage to and
re-engagement in care activities. Programs currently implementing D2C have
shown improved surveillance data quality, better collaboration among
surveillance, prevention and care and treatment staff, and successful linkage
to or re-engagement in care for persons living with HIV. Some programs have
also found D2C to be an efficient strategy for offering expanded partner
services for persons living with HIV not newly diagnosed, and an opportunity to
re-interview individuals out of care, conduct partner notification and offer
testing and other prevention services. Finally, some programs have begun to use
D2C methods to identify and follow-up with HIV diagnosed individuals who may be
in care, but are not virally suppressed, and may need adherence support or
other services. Because D2C activities require collaborative efforts between
the health department, HIV medical providers, and essential support service
providers, D2C provides important opportunities for enhancing existing
collaborations.
D2C approaches may vary and range in scope and design. Some examples of D2C activities include using HIV surveillance data routinely collected by state and local health departments and other data sources to:
- Identify persons who are not in care (NIC) and then link or re-engage them in care
- Identify persons who are in care but are not virally suppressed and work with the clients and their providers to support attaining viral suppression or
- Identify pregnant women or mothers and their exposed infants who may need coordinated services (perinatal HIV services coordination).
Public health officials working in HIV prevention and surveillance are familiar with many of the important considerations and safeguards that they must address when developing a Data to Care program. We will continue to add successful approaches and best practices to this Web site as jurisdictions gain more experience implementing Data to Care programs.
Descriptions of Data to Care programs or models shared on this site are for illustrative purposes only. The methods might not have been evaluated and, thus, statements about their efficacy or effectiveness cannot be made.
To learn more about the important considerations for developing a Data to Care program, please refer to the easy-to-navigate links provided along the right side of this page.
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