Whither the AIDS epidemic - or lies, damned lies and statistics?
| dc.contributor.author | Bourne, David | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-09-19T12:09:47Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-09-19T12:09:47Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2003 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2016-01-14T14:08:09Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | The current HIV/AIDS pandemic is the worst plague ever to afflict humanity, and unfortunately it is at its most severe in southern Africa. Approximately 5 million people are currently infected in South Africa, and therein lies the rub, for our estimates are always based on data that contain uncertainties. While the impact on health is undeniably profound, the uncertainties around the statistics create debate. Our main source of data on the epidemic is the annual report of the Department of Health on HIV prevalence in a sample of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the public sector.1 This needs to be extrapolated to the general population, and to do this a series of assumptions (that may differ between different researchers) are needed. Even the population of South Africa is uncertain. While the official population in the 2001 census is 44 819 778,2 this figure is of questionable accuracy. There was an undercount of about 1 in 6 of the population,3 so assumptions and statistical models were required to arrive at the final estimate. | |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Bourne, D. (2003). Whither the AIDS epidemic - or lies, damned lies and statistics?. <i>South African Medical Journal</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25236 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Bourne, David "Whither the AIDS epidemic - or lies, damned lies and statistics?." <i>South African Medical Journal</i> (2003) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25236 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Bourne, D. (2003). Whither the AIDS epidemic-or lies, damned lies and statistics?: editorial. South African Medical Journal, 93(12), p-916. | |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Journal Article AU - Bourne, David AB - The current HIV/AIDS pandemic is the worst plague ever to afflict humanity, and unfortunately it is at its most severe in southern Africa. Approximately 5 million people are currently infected in South Africa, and therein lies the rub, for our estimates are always based on data that contain uncertainties. While the impact on health is undeniably profound, the uncertainties around the statistics create debate. Our main source of data on the epidemic is the annual report of the Department of Health on HIV prevalence in a sample of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the public sector.1 This needs to be extrapolated to the general population, and to do this a series of assumptions (that may differ between different researchers) are needed. Even the population of South Africa is uncertain. While the official population in the 2001 census is 44 819 778,2 this figure is of questionable accuracy. There was an undercount of about 1 in 6 of the population,3 so assumptions and statistical models were required to arrive at the final estimate. DA - 2003 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - South African Medical Journal LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2003 T1 - Whither the AIDS epidemic - or lies, damned lies and statistics? TI - Whither the AIDS epidemic - or lies, damned lies and statistics? UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25236 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25236 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Bourne D. Whither the AIDS epidemic - or lies, damned lies and statistics?. South African Medical Journal. 2003; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25236. | en_ZA |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher.department | Department of Public Health and Family Medicine | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Cape Town | |
| dc.source | South African Medical Journal | |
| dc.source.uri | http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj | |
| dc.title | Whither the AIDS epidemic - or lies, damned lies and statistics? | |
| dc.type | Journal Article | |
| uct.type.filetype | Text | |
| uct.type.filetype | Image |