Priorities for Local AIDS Control Efforts (PLACE) Tool Kit
The Priorities for Local AIDS Control Efforts (PLACE) method aims to improve our understanding of the drivers of local HIV epidemics, identify gaps in services available to those most likely to acquire and transmit HIV, and provide evidence to support tailored interventions to reduce transmission. Achieving this goal is a challenge because many people don’t know they have the virus, making the local pattern of new infections almost impossible to detect.
PLACE was developed by MEASURE Evaluation—a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)—to meet that challenge. The first implementation manual was published in 2005. Since then, the scope of the PLACE method has been broadened. This 2019 update—expanding PLACE from a single manual to a suite of five guidance documents, templates, training slide decks, and other tools—can be used to guide PLACE studies in response to new opportunities.
The PLACE Tool Kit incorporates best practices for using new tools in testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections; new capabilities for geospatial analysis and electronic data collection; and an increased urgency to find people who are unaware that they are HIV-positive and get them on treatment—particularly to find key populations and other vulnerable people who may be at increased risk of transmitting the virus to others if they are not successfully engaged in treatment.
Part 1. Protocol Preparation
Fact Sheets for Informed Consent
Interviewer Confidentiality Pledge
Protocol Decisions Manual (with tools and worksheets)
District PLACE Report Template
Part 2. Fieldwork Implementation
Fieldwork Implementation Guide (step-by-step instructions)
Meeting and Training Agendas
- District Launch Meeting Agenda
- Supervisor Training Agenda
- Community Informant Interviews Training Agenda
- Venue Informant Interviews Training Agenda
- Patron and Worker Interviews Training Agenda
Fieldwork Forms
- Form 1-1: Interviewer Tally Sheet for Community Informant Interviews
- Form 1-2: Supervisor Summary Form for Community Informant Interviews
- Form 2-1: Supervisor Summary Form for Interviews with Venue Informants
- Form 3-1: Supervisor District Summary Form for Form C
- Form 3-2: Supervisor Form C Summary Form for a Specific Venue
- Form 3-3: Interviewer Outcome Log for Form C Interviews
- Form 3-4: Tester Venue Summary Form for Patron/Worker Interviews
- Form 3-5: Dried Blood Spot Tracking Form
Fieldwork Tools
- Quality Checklist for Form A
- Quality Checklist for Form B
- Quality Checklist for Form C
- Readiness Assessment Tool
- Template for a District Summary Spreadsheet for Use with the PLACE QGIS Mapping Tool
- Master Venue List
- Template for a List of Priority Prevention Areas
Training Materials
- Overview
- Protocol Decisions: Presentation to the PLACE National Steering Committee
- Interviewer Research Ethics Training
- Interviewing Techniques Training
- Interviews with Community Informants (Level 1) Using PLACE Form A: Interviewer Training
- Interviews with Venue Informants (Level 2) Using PLACE Form B: Interviewer Training
- Interviews with Patrons and Workers (Level 3) Using PLACE Form C: Interviewer Training
Part 3. Virtual PLACE Implementation
Protocol for a Study of Social Media Sites
Adapted Questionnaires
Adapted Fact Sheets for Informed Consent and Interviewer Confidentiality Pledge
- Virtual PLACE Form A informed consent fact sheet
- [Virtual PLACE Form B: no informed consent fact sheet needed]
- Virtual PLACE Form C informed consent fact sheet
- Virtual PLACE Interviewer Confidentiality Pledge
Worksheets
Related Content
The PLACE Mapping Tool: A Plug-in for GIS
PLACE Legacy Documents and Additional Resources
