Evaluating large-scale HIV prevention interventions: study design for an integrated mathematical modelling approach.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Mathematical Modeling

Background:

• Urgent need for evaluating HIV prevention interventions to understand effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
• The Avahan Initiative in India targets high-risk groups for HIV prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• Describe an integrated mathematical evaluation framework to assess population-level impact of HIV interventions.
• Apply this framework to the Avahan Initiative in southern India.

Main Methods:

• Utilize an integrated mathematical framework for monitoring and evaluation.
• Combine empirical biological and behavioral data with tailored transmission dynamics models.
• Employ a Bayesian framework for analysis.

Main Results:

• Overview of the Avahan Initiative and its evaluation objectives.
• Presentation of the chosen evaluation design, its components, advantages, and challenges.
• Illustrated examples of the framework's application.

Conclusions:

• First large-scale application of this integrated evaluation approach.
• Lessons learned from the CHARME project can inform future intervention evaluations.
• Evaluation results offer programmatic and public health relevance.