Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 1994 Mar-Apr;109(2):204–211.

Applications of data from the CDC Family of Surveys.

I M Onorato 1, M Gwinn 1, T J Dondero Jr 1
PMCID: PMC1403476  PMID: 8153271

Abstract

The CDC Family of Surveys is a national serologic surveillance system set up to characterize the extent of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States. The now Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and participating State and local health departments began the system in 1987. HIV seroprevalence data are collected by unlinked (anonymous) surveys of particular components of the population that include childbearing women; clients of sexually transmitted disease clinics; injecting drug users; tuberculosis patients; and several special populations, such as adolescents, prisoners, and homeless persons. The data obtained have been used extensively on both national and local levels to assist HIV-prevention programs. Data from the surveys have been used to identify specific demographic groups at risk for HIV infection so that health education programs may be planned and made available to them in clinical settings. Local serosurvey results have been used in planning and implementing prevention programs and in planning health services for HIV-positive persons. The completeness, or coverage, of HIV counseling and testing programs has been evaluated by comparing seroprevalences among clients tested voluntarily with those tested in the unlinked survey. Survey data are used in formulating recommendations and standards of care for health practitioners, in allocating resources, and in carrying out long-range planning for HIV prevention and treatment services for at-risk groups. Such data are essential to the decision-making process in forming public health policy and recommending practices involving the HIV epidemic.

Full text

PDF
204

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allen D. M., Onorato I. M., Green T. A. HIV infection in intravenous drug users entering drug treatment, United States, 1988 to 1989. The Field Services Branch of the Centers for Disease Control. Am J Public Health. 1992 Apr;82(4):541–546. doi: 10.2105/ajph.82.4.541. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Dondero T. J., Jr, Pappaioanou M., Curran J. W. Monitoring the levels and trends of HIV infection: the Public Health Service's HIV surveillance program. Public Health Rep. 1988 May-Jun;103(3):213–220. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gwinn M., Pappaioanou M., George J. R., Hannon W. H., Wasser S. C., Redus M. A., Hoff R., Grady G. F., Willoughby A., Novello A. C. Prevalence of HIV infection in childbearing women in the United States. Surveillance using newborn blood samples. JAMA. 1991 Apr 3;265(13):1704–1708. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Janssen R. S., St Louis M. E., Satten G. A., Critchley S. E., Petersen L. R., Stafford R. S., Ward J. W., Hanson D. L., Olivo N., Schable C. A. HIV infection among patients in U.S. acute care hospitals. Strategies for the counseling and testing of the hospital patients. The Hospital HIV Surveillance Group. N Engl J Med. 1992 Aug 13;327(7):445–452. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199208133270701. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. McCray E., Onorato I. M. Sentinel surveillance of human immunodeficiency virus infection in sexually transmitted disease clinics in the United States. Sex Transm Dis. 1992 Jul-Aug;19(4):235–241. doi: 10.1097/00007435-199207000-00010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Novick L. F., Berns D., Stricof R., Stevens R., Pass K., Wethers J. HIV seroprevalence in newborns in New York State. JAMA. 1989 Mar 24;261(12):1745–1750. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Novick L. F. HIV seroprevalence surveys: impetus for preventive activities. Am J Public Health. 1991 May;81 (Suppl):61–63. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.suppl.61. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Onorato I. M., Jones T. S., Forrester W. R. Using seroprevalence data in managing public health programs. Public Health Rep. 1990 Mar-Apr;105(2):163–166. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Onorato I. M., McCray E. Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection among patients attending tuberculosis clinics in the United States. J Infect Dis. 1992 Jan;165(1):87–92. doi: 10.1093/infdis/165.1.87. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Pappaioanou M., Dondero T. J., Jr, Petersen L. R., Onorato I. M., Sanchez C. D., Curran J. W. The family of HIV seroprevalence surveys: objectives, methods, and uses of sentinel surveillance for HIV in the United States. Public Health Rep. 1990 Mar-Apr;105(2):113–119. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. St Louis M. E., Rauch K. J., Petersen L. R., Anderson J. E., Schable C. A., Dondero T. J. Seroprevalence rates of human immunodeficiency virus infection at sentinel hospitals in the United States. The Sentinel Hospital Surveillance Group. N Engl J Med. 1990 Jul 26;323(4):213–218. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199007263230401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Sweeney P. A., Onorato I. M., Allen D. M., Byers R. H. Sentinel surveillance of human immunodeficiency virus infection in women seeking reproductive health services in the United States, 1988-1989. The Field Services Branch. Obstet Gynecol. 1992 Apr;79(4):503–510. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES