Showing papers by "Emma Slaymaker published in 2005"

The role of behavioral data in HIV surveillance.

Abstract: This paper reviews the ways in which data on sexual behavior can contribute to the understanding of HIV prevalence trends based on sentinel surveillance, building on work presented at a meeting on new strategies for HIV/AIDS surveillance in resource-constrained countries, held in Addis Ababa in January 2004. A key component of second-generation surveillance is the collection of data on the behaviors and background characteristics that may influence the course of the HIV epidemic in a population. However, the most appropriate methods for the collection and analysis of these data for various types of epidemic have yet to be established. A conceptual framework is presented outlining the relationships between background characteristics, behaviors and HIV infection. The different methods used to collect data on HIV infection, risk behaviors and background characteristics in generalized and concentrated epidemics are reviewed, including population-based surveys, and surveillance in high- and low-risk groups. The various biases inherent in different approaches are discussed. The implications of linking data at the individual and community levels are explored and recommendations made concerning appropriate analytical approaches, drawing on an example of a pilot study that linked biological and behavioral surveillance in Tanzanian antenatal clinics. The paper concludes with recommendations for the methods and frequency with which to collect the data required for second-generation HIV surveillance.

Condom use in Uganda and Zimbabwe: exploring the influence of gendered access to resources and couple-level dynamics.

Abstract: There has been little systematic investigation of the routes through which the sociocultural construction of gender actually influences risk-related behaviors or the factors that might encourage changes in elements of gender systems that promote safer behavior vis-a-vis HIV/AIDS. In particular we know little about the ways in which gendered inequalities in access to resources and couple dynamics ultimately influence the adoption of protective behaviors. Moreover most of the evidence is based on small-scale or qualitative studies making it difficult to assess the generalizability of findings or the size of the effects. The present analysis uses national-level quantitative survey data from two African countries to examine the ways in which gendered inequalities in access to resources and gendered patterns of interaction between partners are related to the adoption of protective behavior specifically condom use. (excerpt)

Using the file command to produce formatted output for other applications

Abstract: The file command provides a way to produce tables for use in other application software. It can be especially useful for combining descriptive results (such as means and percentages) and results from significance tests. Extracting and manipulating the results directly from Stata matrices gives more control over arrangement, while other Stata functions may be used to control numeric formats. This tutorial includes examples based on survey data of both plain text and HTML output.