Building strong linkages across the HIV prevention continuum: The practical lessons learned from a comprehensive evaluation effort in Minnesota

This article describes practical lessons learned from an evaluation of a continuum of HIV prevention efforts and is intended to assist other states in strengthening their own HIV prevention evaluation activities. In 1996 Minnesota launched several evaluation activities and began to examine how they could be linked across the HIV prevention continuum. Although each evaluation activity generated its own findings, this article examines the challenges faced and the solutions created when integrating these findings into the original steps of the HIV prevention continuum. Key points are highlighted to guide HIV professionals in their endeavors to develop an integrated approach to evaluation and to establish clear and logical linkages across the HIV prevention continuum.