Identification of the necessary data elements to report AIDS: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The HIV/AIDS surveillance system in Iran prioritizes clinical care, neglecting essential support services and secondary programs.
• A critical need exists for standardized reporting templates to meet the diverse information requirements of stakeholders within the Public Health Information Exchange (PHIE) system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a comprehensive reporting template for the PHIE system specifically for HIV/AIDS in Iran.
• To enhance data collection and information exchange for improved HIV/AIDS management and policy-making.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature review was conducted from 2000 to 2016 across major scientific databases.
• Keywords included "Minimum Data Set" and HIV/AIDS, identifying necessary data elements for the reporting template.

Main Results:

• The Minimum Data Set (MDS) was structured into three main categories: administrative/managerial/policy-makers (10 classes, 90 elements), clinical/medical (6 classes, 83 elements), and support services/counselling/subsidiary (3 classes, 32 elements).
• A total of 28 studies were included in the review to inform the template's design.

Conclusions:

• Iran excels in clinical AIDS treatment but faces challenges in support services and data availability for effective policy decisions.
• The developed reporting format addresses the information needs of all beneficiaries involved in HIV/AIDS care and management.
• Implementing this comprehensive template is crucial for accurate and efficient policy and decision-making in Iran's HIV/AIDS response.