Sampling Frames and Study Types Studies on life events Dr Magnolia Cardona Coordinating Epidemiologist Queensland Health Department Australia

Objectives l Identify study types for life events l Propose data sources for life stages l Select best approaches to investigate l State advantages of data sources/study types l Highlight limitations

Life events l Pregnancy & childbirth l Infancy & childhood l Adolescence & young adulthood l Adulthood l Mature age l Death

Data Sources (pregnancy/childbirth) l Births register l Perinatal data collection l Hospital inpatients collection l Census data

Data Sources (Adolescence & Young adults) Employment registers Department of Family Services Juvenile Justice Department Young People at Risk Program School surveys

Data Sources (Adult Women) l Electoral roll l Pap smear/Breast screening registers l Hospital inpatient statistics l Disease-specific registers l Women’s health clinics l Women’s longitudinal study l Workplace surveys

Data Sources (Adult men) l Electoral roll l Unemployment/Social security registers l Occupational lists /Workplace surveys l Population survey (controls) l Inpatient data collection l Public call for volunteers

Selection of study types l According to research question l Whether there is a sampling frame l Topic and expected response rate l Time available for study l Financial constraints

Scenarios [1] Prevalence of falls in the elderly ) Injury surveillance database/A&E Depart. ) Doctors sentinel surveillance ) Population survey using RDD ) Electoral roll ) Veteran Affairs register/Pensioner’s lists CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY and DATA ANALYSIS FROM EXISTING COLLECTION

Scenarios [2] Uptake of home safety regulations l Government watchdog body l Business/Trade register l Telephone directory (Yellow pages) l Mobile phone survey REPEAT CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

Scenarios [3] Long-term outcome of treatment l Disease-specific register/clinic l Post-hospital follow-up/Re-admission l Support agency/Professional association l Sentinel Surveillance System l Linkage across data sets LONGITUDINAL STUDY WITH CONTROL GROUP

Scenarios [4] Parenting skills/attitudes l Baby health clinics/maternity wards l Hospital register/perinatal collection l Schools/ after school care l Dept of Family Services/Counselling services GENERAL POPULATION SURVEY

Scenarios [5] Profile of body pierced people in your State l Body Piercing outlets l Street Intercept l D&A settings /needle exchange outlets l Schools l Population-based COMBINE TARGETED PHONE / FACE TO FACE SURVEY

Scenarios [6] Source of outbreak contamination l Affected patient list l Guest/passenger list l Menu/diet/activity recall questionnaire l Database of controls l Population-based in affected area CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Scenarios [7] Knowledge in teenagers l Schools enrolment list l Unemployment registers l Patient registers/hospitals/ doctors rooms l Population-based saga EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WITH CONTROL GROUP (clusters)

Limitations ) Not all databases cover all aspects to be investigated ) Not all populations are identifiable or approachable ) Different definitions of data items in each State/region ) Budget & time constraints preclude rigorous studies

Summary l Life Cycle l Data Sources available l Choice of study types l Limitations Use resources to the best of your ability