Description:
Advantages: Integrated data sets with synchronized variables allow for greater opportunity to compare data sets and to plan, analyze and distribute information (Five Year HIV/AIDS Plans). The Core Competencies provide a guidance that can be uniformly applied to STD, HIV, and family planning providers. Challenges: Silo funding and associated requirements sometimes create artificial barriers to collaboration. Change takes time, commitment, and persistence. Finding individuals with the commitment and the time available outside their primary tasks is difficult. Unanticipated Benefits: New channels of communication create new opportunities for collaboration among ASHWG members on topics/issues other than adolescent sexual health.