Using data to make decisions: planning HIV/AIDS care under the Ryan White CARE Act

This article describes the challenges of using data to plan and fund HIV/AIDS care services for underserved populations under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. It also outlines methods that have been developed by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to assist community planning groups in using data to decide how to target limited federal resources under the CARE Act. Use of CARE Act dollars is guided largely by an array of legislatively identified priority areas, such as targeting of low income HIV-infected individuals who are not in care for their HIV disease. CARE Act program guidance covers the use of epidemiologic HIV and AIDS case data, quantification of unmet need for HIV care, guidance on making objective decisions on priorities for funding within a community planning process, and other instructions on the use of data in making decisions.