Pilot study of a household survey to determine HIV seroprevalence.

A survey based on a probability sample of U.S. households was suggested as a method to determine the number of persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). To test the feasibility of such a survey, CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recently conducted a pilot study in two sites through a contract with the Research Triangle Institute. The first field test, conducted in January 1989, used a random sample of adults from households in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania; the response rate of 81% suggested that the majority of the sample population might participate in a carefully planned household HIV survey. This report summarizes the second field test, which was conducted in Dallas County, Texas, from September through December 1989.