CDC's Role in Prevention Planning
Research and Support for Community Action
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the lead federal government agency for
HIV prevention in the United States. CDC works with states and communities to provide the
information and tools needed to design and implement effective local prevention programs. Each
community faces unique prevention challenges, and programs must be locally relevant and
workable. HIV prevention works best if designed and implemented by those closest to the
problem, with input from the individuals and groups for whom programs are designed.
New Emphasis on Community-Based Prevention
In December 1993, CDC initiated a new process to put more of the decisions about prevention
programs in the hands of the communities affected. The process, HIV Prevention Community
Planning, represents a significant step forward in planning culturally competent and scientifically
sound HIV prevention services that specifically address unique community needs.
The Science to Guide Prevention
HIV is still a relatively new epidemic, and continues to evolve. Prevention programs must keep
pace with the epidemic, and lessons learned in one community should be applied in others, with
local modifications as needed. CDC's role is to provide the science to guide prevention. To
fulfill this role, CDC has several responsibilities, including:
- Tracking the Epidemic: Since the epidemic began, CDC has worked with state and local
communities to track the course of HIV and AIDS. CDC has numerous surveillance programs
and is constantly working to provide communities the most complete and timely information
possible on ongoing and emerging trends.
- Prevention Research: CDC researchers continuously work to evaluate new tools and
techniques for preventing HIV transmission. Both biomedical and behavioral interventions are
examined, as well as promising integrations of the two approaches. For example, as AIDS
increasingly affects women, it is critical that prevention methods be developed that are easily
within women's control. CDC researchers are working with scientists worldwide to evaluate
the effectiveness of female condoms and to develop effective microbicides that can kill HIV
and the pathogens that cause other STDs. As with any new tool for prevention, scientists must
also determine what influences people's willingness and ability to use these methods. CDC
behavioral scientists are simultaneously working to evaluate the factors that will contribute to
women's use of these products and how these new prevention methods can and should be
balanced with existing prevention options.
- Evaluating What Works in HIV Prevention: CDC scientists also work with communities
to determine the impact of HIV prevention programs and how programs may be improved. By
distributing these findings broadly, successful interventions can be built upon nationally and
adapted by other communities. It is critical that communities experiencing later waves of HIV
infection and AIDS not struggle to develop, implement, and evaluate prevention programs as
larger U.S. cities, like New York and San Francisco, had to do early on. Fifteen years into the
epidemic in America, information is available that allows second- and third-wave communities
to put prevention programs into place quickly, before HIV is firmly established and can be
aggressively contained.
In the fall of 1995, the CDC created a new Center--the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB
Prevention (NCHSTP)--to coordinate CDC's HIV prevention activities. Dr. Helene Gayle was
named Director of NCHSTP and now leads CDC's HIV prevention efforts, as well as the
agency's programs to prevent other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis. |