How does the Planning Council determine the HIV care and treatment needs?
In order to gather the necessary and objective data regarding the needs of individuals infected and affected by HIV and AIDS, Ryan White funding requires the Planning Council to conduct a “Community-Based HIV/AIDS Needs Assessment.” In 1993, the Planning Council conducted what was, at that time, one of the largest and most comprehensive assessments of care and treatment needs of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in the entire nation. This project utilized focus groups, Delphi groups, community forums, open hearings, public testimonies, and one-on-one interviews with approximately 1,000 HIV infected and affected individuals and regional experts. The Needs Assessment was updated in 1995 and 1997.The 1999 Comprehensive Needs Assessment, the methodology for which was even more extensive that that utilized for the 1993 Needs Assessment, was conducted in two phases. The first phase took place in the late spring of 1998 and the second in the spring of 1999. Between both phases of th
