title: 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.
authors.affiliation: a Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.affiliation: a Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Heywood
authors.affiliation: a Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fileborn
authors.affiliation: a Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Minichiello
authors.affiliation: a Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.affiliation: a Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: b School of Nursery and Midwifery , University of Sheffield , Sheffield , UK.
authors.forename: Sharron
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hinchliff
authors.affiliation: c National Ageing Research Institute , Melbourne , Australia.|d Swinburne Institute of Social Research , Swinburne University of Technology , Hawthorn , Australia.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malta
authors.affiliation: a Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Crameri
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D000074384:Sexual Health; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Australia; Older adults; mixed methods research; safer-sex; sexual health; sexually transmitted infections