Cohort Profile: The TASO-CAN Cohort Collaboration

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa has scaled-up access to combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) at unprecedented rates, yet data on patient-related outcomes remain sparse. Representative databases that facilitate high quality collection, harmonization and analysis of HIV-related information from clinical and research related sites are needed. The large sample sizes that nationally representative databases permit facilitate identification of rare outcomes and emerging problems and the elucidation of more complex relationships involving the use of cART. These efforts also allow meaningful comparisons between regional treatment programmes that differ in their operational procedures and serve diverse communities in different settings. Unique features of individual sites exist, such as language used and cultural norms, research and care capacity, infrastructure development, personnel training and experience, and collection of data elements that differ in type, number, definition or method of laboratory. Furthermore, the use of innovative databases and informatics approaches can provide a principled approach to pool national data, and improve uniformity and consistency in data management in such heterogeneous settings.