Needs Assessments

Needs Assessments: Improving HIV Care & Prevention in Iowa

The Bureau of HIV, STI, and Hepatitis, in partnership with local service providers and stakeholders, routinely conducts needs assessments of people living with HIV, individuals who utilize prevention services, and other populations as needed. These assessments help inform programs at the state and local levels while also providing insight and direction to the strategic planning processes to end the HIV epidemic in Iowa.

Please contact the Bureau of HIV, STI, and Hepatitis at 515-242-5150 or stophivia@gmail.com with any questions or to learn more.

In 2019, the IDPH administered its fifth Consumer Needs Assessment (CNA) survey following those completed in 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2016. The purpose of this survey was to reach a representative proportion of people diagnosed and living with HIV in Iowa to answer the following questions in order to improve care and prevention services across the state:
- What are the HIV care and prevention services people diagnosed and living with HIV in Iowa need?
- What are the barriers to accessing those services?
- What are the experiences of people diagnosed and living with HIV in Iowa, including stigma, social determinants of health, and childhood trauma?
- How do service needs, gaps, and barriers vary by sub-populations of people diagnosed and living with HIV in Iowa?
- How do health and wellness vary by sub-populations of people diagnosed and living with HIV in Iowa, and how does it compare to Iowa’s overall population, as measured by statewide data?
The Consumer Needs Assessment results are displayed as fact sheets that make up the full report. The fact sheets may be used and distributed individually or together.
2019 Iowa Consumer Needs Assessment
In 2019, the IDPH administered the first Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) survey, focusing on behaviors that may expose individuals to HIV, HCV, and other STDs. The survey collected information from people who were not living with HIV or who were unaware of their HIV status. Survey questions focused on these individuals' health needs and the barriers to services and care they experienced. The 2019 PNA data will be utilized as a baseline to assess awareness, access, and attitudes around HIV prevention tools. In particular, the IDPH set out to learn:
- How aware are Iowans of HIV and STD prevention tools?
- What HIV and STD prevention tools are being used and what impacts those choices?
- What are the HIV and STD prevention services people access and at what frequency?
- What are the barriers to accessing those services?
- How do awareness, access, and prevention behaviors vary by sub-populations of people across Iowa?
The Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) results are displayed as fact sheets that make up the full report. The fact sheets may be used and distributed individually or together.
2019 Iowa Prevention Needs Assessment

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