Formative assessment of use of behavioral data in HIV prevention: Texas.

A formative assessment was conducted with Texas HIV prevention community planning group (CPG) members, prevention provider staff, and supervisors of those staff to better understand how to enhance their use of epidemiologic and behavioral data in the selection and prioritization of prevention interventions. Semi-structured interviews, mail surveys, and content analysis of funding proposals were used to determine the current use of these data, their perceived value, and the most trusted sources for data. CPG members, prevention provider staff, and supervisors valued information from their peers and networking most, and made more use of socially available information than they did research or systematically collected assessment data. CPG members wanted more local data and data on specific sub-populations of interest. Prevention providers viewed the utility of behavioral data as limited, and were primarily concerned with the pragmatic aspects of fielding interventions; however, this group also expressed an interest in rapid community assessment methods and learning more about new and effective prevention interventions. These results led to the development of training and technical assistance materials.

After the innovation: outcomes from the Texas behavioral data project.

The Texas Department of Health and University of Texas Southwestern staff, using formative assessment data, developed a set of innovative methods and tools to increase the use of behavioral and epidemiologic data in decision-making about HIV prevention interventions by HIV prevention community planning groups (CPGs) and HIV prevention providers. Semistructured interviews, mail surveys, meeting observations, and content analysis of funding proposals were used to measure the results of the multifaceted intervention. Compared to baseline measures, CPG members reported that data played a more central and desired role in their decision-making. HIV prevention providers exposed to the project's materials were more likely to choose evidence-based interventions to conduct. The tools and structural intervention methods of this project were diffused and had an impact on the use of behavioral data by community planning groups and HIV prevention providers. The structural interventions were not sufficient without the additional effect of the trained peers acting as advocates and intervention innovators.