PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - M C Boily
TI  - S3.3 Use of transmission dynamics models to design and evaluate the impact of large scale HIV/STI prevention intervention: how, why and when?
AID  - 10.1136/sextrans-2011-050102.11
DP  - 2011 Jul 01
TA  - Sexually Transmitted Infections
PG  - A4--A4
VI  - 87
IP  - Suppl 1
4099  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/87/Suppl_1/A4.1.short
4100  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/87/Suppl_1/A4.1.full
SO  - Sex Transm Infect2011 Jul 01; 87
AB  - When HIV or STI prevention programmes (eg, large core group intervention, human papillomavirus vaccination programme) are being scaled up to entire populations, it often becomes difficult to conduct randomised experiments to evaluate their impact. In this talk, I will discuss some of the challenges often present when evaluating large scale interventions and how and why transmission dynamics models, in combination with surveillance data, should be used to address some of these issues and to help estimate the intervention impact more objectively. Mathematical models should also be used at an early stage, not only to choose the most optimal prevention package, but to optimally design and validate evaluation studies in a cost-effective manner.