The Public Health Response to the HIV Epidemic in the United States

This chapter provides an overview of the public health response to meeting the challenges of HIV and AIDS prevention. The six major elements of this response are discussed. Surveillance provides comprehensive monitoring of the epidemic, which guides planning activities and can be used to gauge the combined effects of prevention efforts on HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality. Research provides in-depth information that is necessary for the development and testing of efficacious biomedical and behavioral interventions. Local health departments and community-based organizations are primarily responsible for implementing and delivering prevention services. The evaluation of these services provides feedback about the delivery and real-world effectiveness of HIV prevention programs and facilitates the continued improvement of these efforts. Policy guides and shapes the public health response to HIV at the local, state, and national level by setting standards, encouraging adoption of some prevention strategies, and discouraging the use of others. All these components are supported by capacity building and technical assistance activities that seek to improve the ability of public health officials, researchers, prevention programs, evaluators, and policy makers to make informed decisions and do their jobs effectively.