Information for participants
How the Study is conducted
Between 2006 and 2008 many hundreds of thousands of men and women aged 45 and over in NSW were randomly selected from the Medicare Australia database and invited to join the Study.
Every person who was invited to join the Study was sent a questionnaire asking about their health and lifestyle. All questions were carefully selected by leading health professionals and researchers. Over 250,000 people - 10% of the population in this age group - returned the questionnaire and signed a consent form agreeing to be contact by the Study in the future.
What happened after the questionnaire was completed and returned?
Information provided to the Study is being used by researchers and policy makers to investigate a range of questions relating to healthy ageing. Initial analyses of information from questionnaires will focus on the health and lifestyles of participants and how different conditions affect disability and quality of life.
An important part of the Study is to look at what happens to people's health over time and to link the information provided via questionnaires with other existing Australian health data sources.
After completing the questionnaire, participants will be sent a follow-up questionnaire within five years so they can update the study on changes to their health and lifestyle.
With participants' permission, we will also be able to follow health over time by linking to existing information systems that already routinely collect data on health, such as records of hospital admissions and medical and surgical procedures, registers of cancer and infectious diseases and use of medications and aged care facilities.
These linked pieces of information will allow researchers to investigate in-depth which factors contribute most to healthy ageing and how individuals and health professionals can act to maximise health and quality of life over the years.
At a later stage, participants who are happy to do something extra for the Study may also take part in additional research projects or provide biological samples (such as blood and saliva).
Again, the decision to participate in this Study and in any future studies was, and is entirely voluntary, and participants are free to withdraw from the Study at anytime.
To withdraw from the Study, you can send an online request with your name, date of birth and contact details by clicking here, or you can phone the Study helpline on 1300 45 11 45 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm).
Alternate contact details for the Study can be found here.