The CCASAnet collaboration has the following aims:
- To create and support a network of participating sites in the Caribbean, Central, and South America for sharing existing research and clinical data related to the epidemiology of HIV and related disorders;
- To create a shared data repository that merges data sets submitted by all participating sites;
- To conduct and facilitate research using the shared data repository that enables us to answer to questions that cannot be answered by single datasets alone;
- To develop and evaluate new biostatistical methods relevant to HIV epidemiology;
- To ensure high quality data and analyses in our region;
- To develop a program of education and training that will assist sites to improve the quality and consistency of their clinical research activities;
- To collaborate with other groups in the development of international standards for sharing and meta-analysis of HIV-related data, and
- To join with other regional IeDEA networks to conduct global, multi-regional HIV observational studies.
Supplemental support has allowed us to expand our research aims to include projects on tuberculosis, cancer, HPV, and substance use in HIV-positive persons.