SPACE Tool 2.0: Estimating What STI Budget Changes Cost

What it is

The STI Prevention Allocation Consequences Estimator (SPACE) is a CDC tool for federally funded jurisdictions — states and directly funded large cities — to estimate how changes in STI prevention budgets affect:

• the incidence of bacterial sexually transmitted infections;
• STI-attributable HIV infections;
• direct medical costs.

Such estimates are never exact, but SPACE helps STI program staff make evidence-based calculations of how budget changes shift disease burden and costs.

What's new in 2.0

The first model was built in 2017. Version 2.0 brings updated parameters and methods, a more user-friendly, engaging interface, and new features users requested. The methods are described in the SPACE Tool 2.0 manuscript.

Using it

1. Download the SPACE Tool 2.0 spreadsheet, save it, and enable macros.
2. The home screen gives background and prompts you to start; further instructions are built into the spreadsheet, where all calculations are done.
3. An instructional video and slides walk through entering budget data, calculating outcomes, customizing output and exporting visualizations.

Sharing results

The video and slides show how to print output as a meeting handout and export customizable charts. JPHMP Direct, the companion site of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, also explains the model and what's new in 2.0.

Sources

Based on "SPACE Tool 2.0," STI program resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain. A decorative graphic is left out.