The quality of sero-surveillance in low- and middle-income countries: status and trends through 2007
2008

Quality of HIV Sero-surveillance in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Sample size: 127 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Rob Lyerla, Edwin Gouws, J M Garcia-Calleja

Primary Institution: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

Hypothesis

To examine the quality of HIV sero-surveillance systems in 127 low-income and middle-income countries by 2007.

Conclusion

Many countries still have poorly functioning surveillance systems.

Supporting Evidence

  • 40 countries were categorised as fully functioning in 2007.
  • 43 countries were identified as partially functioning.
  • 44 countries were categorised as poorly functioning.

Takeaway

This study looked at how well countries track HIV infections. Many countries need to do better at collecting data to understand the epidemic.

Methodology

The quality of countries’ surveillance systems was scored using information from 2001 through 2007, compiled from various data sources.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to reliance on available data and the exclusion of non-English, French, Spanish, and Russian publications.

Limitations

Some data in countries may not have been considered, and the analysis focused on specific data sources.

Participant Demographics

127 low-income and middle-income countries were assessed.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1136/sti.2008.030593

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