National HIV/AIDS Surveillance Pattern for Iran's Health System

The present research has been conducted to design the HIV/AIDS Surveillance system for Iran applying WHO recommendations, using the experiences of the countries having the lead in the design and implementation of the system. In this descriptive study of applied kind, we initially investigated the existing circumstances governing Iran's HIV/AIDS information system from the Ministry of Health using a checklist. Subsequently, the HIV/AIDS surveillance system of selected countries (USA, United Kingdom and Australia) were studied and based on the country's requirements, a model was proposed and designed for Iran. The Delphi technique was utilized to find the views of 24 experts in infectious diseases and Health Information Management. The validity of research instruments was measured using content validity and the reliability was obtained using attest-retest method. A model for HIV/AIDS surveillance system was presented based on WHO recommendations and using the experiences of selected countries. This was presented in six axes: general specifications of the system, minimum data set, data collection and reporting, data processing, data processing rules, and data distribution. Using Delphi technique, the results were approved obtaining the score of 36.3 out of 44 (82.5 percent). The design and implementation of HIV/AIDS surveillance system at the nation level in Iran is proposed for a better understanding of the epidemic procedure and spreading behaviors as well as focusing on the at high risk subpopulations and designing a prevention and care system using high quality data.