Species-based comparison of disease severity and risk factors for disseminated Candida infections in pediatric patients.

Background: Pediatric Candida infections are associated with worse clinical outcomes and increased costs. Yet, it is not definitively known if particular species are associated with more severe illness. Differential risk factor exposures among the species group may also exist.

Evaluation of a hepatitis A immunization program.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a hepatitis A vaccine requirement targeted at child-care center attendees 2-5 years of age in Maricopa County, AZ. A case-control study conducted before implementation in 1997 found that individuals with hepatitis A were 6 times more likely to have worked in or attended a child-care center than were matched controls, and 40% of hepatitis A cases were attributable to attending or working in a child-care center.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted postimplementation in 1999.

Estimating HIV incidence and detection rates from surveillance data.

Background: Markov models that incorporate HIV test information can increase precision in estimates of new infections and permit the estimation of detection rates. The purpose of this study was to assess the functioning of a Markov model for estimating new HIV infections and HIV detection rates in Louisiana using surveillance data.

Methods: We expanded a discrete-time Markov model by accounting for the change in AIDS case definition made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1993.

HIV/AIDS prevention programs: methodologies and insights from the dynamic modeling literature.

Given the quickly changing landscapes of both global HIV infection and the HIV prevention literature, it has become increasingly difficult to identify or design an effective HIV prevention program. The authors discuss methods of selecting an appropriate program so that readers can critically evaluate the literature and create a suitable program for their unique setting. The intent of this article is to provide the reader with analytic modeling tools and methodology to search effectively the literature so that an appropriate and successful HIV prevention program can by selected by an organization or project team.