Behavioral Surveillance Surveys (BSS) 2000
Guidelines for Repeated Behavioral Surveys in Populations at Risk of HIV
Behavioral surveillance surveys (BSS) have been shown over several years to make an important and useful contribution to informing the national response to HIV. These surveys use reliable methods to track HIV risk behaviors over time as part of an integrated surveillance system which monitors various aspects of the epidemic. They are especially useful in providing information on behaviors among sub-populations who may be difficult to reach through traditional household surveys, but who may be at especially high risk for contracting or passing on HIV, such as sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users.
The guidelines presented in this document cover the following areas:
- The importance of behavioral surveillance
- The survey process, step by step
- Choosing populations for behavioral surveillance
- Sampling
- Analysis issues related to multi-stage cluster sampling
- Selecting and adapting questionnaires
- Data analysis
- Data use
- Indicators
- Annexes