The Sex, Age, and Me study: recruitment and sampling for a large mixed-methods study of sexual health and relationships in an older Australian population

Abstract

Older people are often excluded from large studies of sexual health, as it is assumed that they are not having sex or are reluctant to talk about sensitive topics and are therefore difficult to recruit. We outline the sampling and recruitment strategies from a recent study on sexual health and relationships among older people. Sex, Age and Me was a nationwide Australian study that examined sexual health, relationship patterns, safer-sex practices and STI knowledge of Australians aged 60 years and over. The study used a mixed-methods approach to establish baseline levels of knowledge and to develop deeper insights into older adult's understandings and practices relating to sexual health. Data collection took place in 2015, with 2137 participants completing a quantitative survey and 53 participating in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. As the feasibility of this type of study has been largely untested until now, we provide detailed information on the study's recruitment strategies and methods. We also compare key characteristics of our sample with national estimates to assess its degree of representativeness. This study provides evidence to challenge the assumptions that older people will not take part in sexual health-related research and details a novel and successful way to recruit participants in this area.

Talking to healthcare providers about sex in later life: Findings from a qualitative study with older Australian men and women

“…The current study was part of a larger national project, which examined older Australians' knowledge and practices of sex and sexual health . The study included a quantitative survey followed by individual interviews.…”

Sexual Satisfaction Among Older Australian Heterosexual Men and Women: Findings from the Sex, Age & Me Study

“…Our sample, however, was not population-based. Previous analysis of the sample has revealed we oversampled those currently aged in their 60s and those with higher levels of education (Lyons et al, 2017) and a relatively high proportion of participants were born overseas, It is also possible that those who were more interested in sex may have been more likely to participate in the study. This may also partly explain the lack of gender difference in reports of sexual satisfaction.…”

“…A detailed description of the study's methodology and the sample characteristics is provided elsewhere (Lyons et al, 2017). Briefly, the survey was available both online and as a paper questionnaire.…”

“…The authors noted there is a similar lack of policy within the UK, USA, and Canada. A review of studies examining help-seeking for sexual concerns also found healthcare professionals tended to be reluctant to talk to their patients about sexual health-related matters, while many older people also reported not seeking help for such matters (Fileborn, Lyons, et al, 2017;Gott, Hinchliff, & Galena, 2004;Hinchliff & Gott, 2011).…”

Sources of information-seeking on sexually transmitted infections and safer sex by older heterosexual Australian men and women

“…All participants provided informed consent prior to completing the survey and there were no rewards or incentives for participating. Full details of the study sample and method can be found in a recently published methodology paper (Lyons et al, 2017a). The study received approval from the La Trobe University Human Ethics Committee (approval number S15/25).…”