Estimation of Unmet Need for HIV Primary Medical Care: A Framework and Three Case Studies.

The article discusses issues related to the use of data to plan and fund HIV/AIDS care services for underserved populations under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. To consolidate all programs funded under the CARE Act, the HIV/AIDS Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) was formed in August 1997. The CARE Act became law on August 15, 1990, to improve the quality and availability of care for people with HIV/AIDS and their families. It was amended and reauthorized in May 1996 and again in November 2000. HRSA has improved the availability of service data to CARE Act programs by developing the CARE Act Data Report, which is used by all service programs of the CARE Act. But, the CARE Act planning is complicated by the kinds and quality of the data it must consider. Qualitative data are a rich source for describing what the epidemiologic data cannot. Priority setting and resource allocation is mandated in the CARE Act as a planning step in which information compiled from other planning work, particularly needs assessments, is used to determine how to prioritize needs.