Evaluating HIV / AIDS prevention programs. Meeting the challenge.

HIV/AIDS prevention programs tend to be evaluated in ad hoc fashion once program or project implementation has been completed. Evaluation should instead be included as an integral component of a project from the initial design phase of program development. The AIDS Control and Prevention (AIDSCAP) Project emphasizes evaluation beginning with project design. In addition to ensuring that a program will be evaluated in a comprehensive, organized manner, this integrative approach is a unique opportunity to test innovative approaches to evaluation. AIDSCAP began in 1996 the final phase of an ambitious effort to evaluate the progress of its HIV/AIDS prevention programs. As part of the final evaluation of comprehensive programs in 18 countries, tens of thousands of people will be interviewed and hundreds of group discussions held. AIDSCAP's approach to evaluation has evolved over the past 5 years as more has been learned about the complex behavioral, social, economic, and cultural factors which drive the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and about the limitations which face evaluators. The author discusses measuring success, assessing behavior, making a difference, monitoring the process, understanding the numbers, going beyond priority indicators, tracking trends in sexual behavior, the AIDSCAP AVERT model, and building capacity.