Patrick Sean Sullivan*, Emory University, Atlanta, United States Travis Sanchez*, Emory University, Atlanta, United States Alexandra Ricca, Emory University, Atlanta, United States Jennifer Taussig, Emory University, Atlanta, United States Track: Practice Presentation Topic: Public (e-)health, population health technologies, surveillance Presentation Type: Oral presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Building: Mermaid Room: Room 1 - Newgate Date: 2013-09-24 02:00 PM – 03:30 PM Last modified: 2013-09-25

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AIDSVu (www.aidsvu.org) is a freely accessible online mapping resource that increases the accessibility and utility of HIV surveillance data in the United States. Its development represents a unique public-private collaboration, in which public health surveillance officials share, without personal identifiers, aggregated data on the number of persons living with HIV infection, and Emory University supports the production of interactive online maps illustrating the most heavily impacted states, counties, postal codes and, in some cases census tracts. Other public data, such as Census data on poverty, education, and health insurance, can be used to create user-defined data "mash-ups". These views are presented in tandem-tethered interactive maps, and provide context about the social determinants of health. Consumer-oriented features include locator functions to link users with HIV testing and HIV treatment and care facilities. Downloadable resources include high resolution images of maps, PowerPoint slide decks of HIV prevalence maps for the US and its regions, every US state, and selected US cities, and downloadable data sets for all data elements mapped on the website. All services and materials are freely accessible, with no charge or registration required. Since the launch of the current release in June 2012, over 25,000 unique visitors have logged over 200,000 page views -- nearly 1,000 page views per day. The average visitor stays on the site for over 4 minutes, indicating a high level of engagement for those who use the site and its materials.

AIDSVu addresses an important need, and there is evidence that it has been impactful in improving the targeting of HIV services. The US National AIDS Strategy calls for intensifying HIV prevention efforts in the communities where HIV is most heavily concentrated; however, information about HIV prevalence is not consistently available at small geographic areas (e.g., zip code or county level) across the US. Users of AIDSVu maps report using HIV prevalence maps to select geographic areas in most need of HIV testing services within cities, and implementing door-to-door HIV testing campaigns accordingly. Another AIDSVu user determined optimal locations for statewide telemedicine call-in centers by using AIDSVu maps to identify significant areas of unmet need for medical care. Since AIDSVu's launch in June 2010, over 3,000 visitors have used the HIV testing locator, which assists users to find a nearby HIV testing location.

The presentation will briefly highlight AIDSVu's key functionalities and novel data display features, and will also discuss the challenges and opportunities of partnerships between private website developers and public health officials. AIDSVu is a useful model to illustrate how new technology approaches can increase the extent to which public health surveillance data are useful to improve the targeting of public health services and interventions.