The Australian Electoral Commission Roll has good utility for ‘niche’ household recruitment in population health studies

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the recruitment of ‘niche’ household populations, defined by their household characteristics and/or water supply type for health studies. Methods: The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) database was used to recruit households for participation in two health‐related studies, the first, a recycled water usage study and the second, an epidemiological study investigating household rainwater use. Results: The AEC database facilitated the identification and recruitment of households using a particular water supply from among the general household population. Conclusions: The good utility of the AEC roll in household recruitment was associated with its coverage, accuracy and the ability to delimit the sampling frame according to the geographical area(s) and household characteristics of interest. Its use also allowed personalised contact to be made with potential survey participants by mail, contact that is not otherwise possible using existing telephone and on‐line databases. Implications: The AEC database is a valuable resource for household recruitment in a diversity of health and environmental exposure surveys.

Evaluating recruitment strategies for AUSPICE , a large Australian community‐based randomised controlled trial

“…Recruitment is a critical element of any research study, and its success depends on the sampling frame, appropriate methods for contact and follow‐up, and the participation rate in the target group. Sampling frames for research studies in Australia have traditionally relied on the Australian Electoral Commission roll and telephone listings . However, access to the electoral roll has become increasingly problematic, and the shift to unlisted mobile phones means that large proportions of target populations are not included in telephone directories .…”

Access to the Commonwealth electoral roll for medical research

“…The Commonwealth electoral roll (ER) is the best source of representative samples of Australian adults for public health research purposes 1 , 2 . The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 provides that ER data may be released for medical research in accordance with national privacy guidelines, 3 , 4 on request and payment of a fee 5 .…”