Improving the use of data for HIV prevention decision making: lessons learned

HIV prevention community planning was developed to promote identification of local prevention priorities through a process that was evidence-based and provided community input. There are a variety of barriers to effective use of data in community planning which include characteristics of data (availability, timeliness, relevance to planning tasks), characteristics of planning group members and providers of data (e.g., skills in understanding and applying data), and social-organizational aspects of community-planning groups (CPGs). Lessons learned from this project illustrate how to create locally relevant sources of data, build data use skills of CPG members and data providers, and address social-organizational aspects of planning, while also better integrating community planning with implementation of prevention plans. Adaptation of tools and methods is discussed along with future considerations for research and planning practice.