The Completeness, Validity, and Timeliness of AIDS Surveillance Data

PURPOSE: To assess the completeness, validity, and timeliness of the AIDS surveillance system after the 1993 change in the surveillance case definition. METHODS: To assess completeness of AIDS case reporting, three study sites conducted a comparison of their AIDS surveillance registries with an independent source of information. To evaluate validity, the same sites conducted record reviews on a sample of reported AIDS cases, we then compared agreement between the original report and the record review for sex, race, and mode of transmission. To evaluate timeliness, we calculated the median delay from time of diagnosis to case report, before and after the change in case definition, in each of the three study sites. RESULTS: After expansion of the case definition, completeness of AIDS case reporting in hospitals (greater-or-equal, slanted 93%) and outpatient settings (greater-or-equal, slanted 90%) was high. Agreement between the information provided on the original case report and the medical record was > 98% for sex, > 83% for each race/ethnicity group; and > 67% for each risk group. The median reporting delay after the change was four months, but varied by site from three to six months. CONCLUSIONS: The completeness, validity, and timeliness of the AIDS surveillance system remains high after the 1993 change in the surveillance case definition. These findings might be useful for programs implementing integrated HIV and AIDS surveillance systems.