Australian Health Datasets Comparison Tool
A visual tool to help researchers select the right population health surveys for their research needs. Created by researchers from the University of Melbourne and Queen's University Belfast.
About
The aim of this tool is to take out the hard work of finding health-related datasets which cater to your research question. The tool allows you to search through topic areas of interest and identify which population health surveys assess these areas, and the degree to which they do so, compared to other population health surveys. This makes the task of manually finding surveys and comparing their contents much easier.
The University of Melbourne team involved in the creation of this project are from the Transport, Health, and Urban Design (THUD) Research Lab (https://thud.msd.unimelb.edu.au/), whose main focus is exploring the effects of complex physical and social systems on health outcomes using a multidisciplinary approach.
Please include this citation in your work if you use this tool: Godic B., Akaraci S., Vidanaarachchi R., Nice K., Seneviratne S., Mavoa S., Hunter R., Garcia L., Stevenson M., Wijnands J., and Thompson J. (2022) Australian Population Health Datasets Comparison Tool, https://aushealthdatasets.w3spaces.com/
Background
This tool was developed throughout 2020-21 during a joint research project between Queen's University Belfast and the University of Melbourne, funded by a UKRI-NHMRC grant, to investigate the ways in which the built environment affects health outcomes. This required the use of Australia-wide health datasets which covered a broad range of health-related topics. During this search, it became evident that no single data set covered all of the topics in question, and instead, that a 'patch work' of data sets would be needed to cover all the relevant research areas. Then came the difficult part. Identifying these datasets and assessing their contents was time-consuming and laborious, as no tool existed to allow us to quickly assess whether it had the information we needed, and how each data set compared to the next. To help other researchers who may face similar issues, we decided to build this tool to make the identification and content comparison of data sets easier, and also to make sure that these data sets can be utilised to their full potential to help answer pressing research questions.
Method
For a full explanation of the methodology, please see the research paper associated with this work (will be submitted to a journal soon - please contact for further information at this time!). In brief, we first established a number of categories that we expected the surveys to ask about (i.e. 'age', 'weight', diseases according to the ICD-11, etc.). We then analysed each question within each survey for the number and type of themes it contained. The number of times a particular theme was mentioned was then tallied, and these tallies were used for comparison. These tallied categories were then represented by Sankey diagrams to allow for an easy visual representation of the way that different surveys address various topics. Broadly, the topics covered include demographics, risk factors, illnesses and symptoms (as defined by the World Health Organisation - International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision), and other factors.
Demographics
This section will allow you to explore which surveys contain demographic information relevant to your research question. Interact with the diagram below to explore your topics of interest!
Risk Factors
This section will allow you to explore which surveys contain information about risk factors relevant to your research question. Interact with the diagram below to explore your topics of interest!
ICD-11 Diseases
This section will allow you to explore which surveys contain disease-related information (as classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Classification of Diseases version 11) relevant to your research question. Interact with the diagram below to explore your topics of interest!
ICD-11 Signs and Symptoms
This section will allow you to explore which surveys contain symptom-related information (as classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Classification of Diseases version 11) relevant to your research question. Interact with the diagram below to explore your topics of interest!
Other Factors
This section will allow you to explore the additional topics covered by the Australian population health surveys, which may be relevant to your research question. Interact with the diagram below to explore your topics of interest!
Survey Information
To compare the data sets, we first searched high and low for all Australian population health surveys which were easily available (though some require a fee) to Australian researchers. The surveys we identified (and the versions we used to analyse them) are mentioned below:
1. 45 and Up (Wave 2 - First Follow Up) - The Sax Institute.
The Sax Institute. The 45 and Up Study: Wave 2 Data Dictionary (First Follow-Up 2012-2015). 2021.
2. Ten to Men (Wave 2 - Adults) - The Australian Government: Australian Institute of Family Studies (previously the University of Melbourne) (2).
The Australian Institute of Family Studies. Ten to Men Data Dictionary.
3. Busselton Healthy Ageing Study (V4) - Busselton Population Medical Research Institute*
*Provided via personal correspondence.
James A, Hunter M, Straker L, Beilby J, Bucks R, Davis T, et al. Rationale, design and methods for a community-based study of clustering and cumulative effects of chronic disease processes and their effects on ageing: the Busselton healthy ageing study. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:936.
4. North West Adelaide Health Study (15 year follow-up) - The University of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School
University of Adelaide AMS. North West Adelaide Health Study [Available from: https://health.adelaide.edu.au/medicine/research/north-west-adelaide-health-study.
5. The Raine Study (Gen2 - 27-year follow-up) - The University of Western Australia
The Raine Study. The Raine Study Gen2_27 year follow up [Available from: https://rainestudy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Gen2-27_Main_Questionnaire_CodingVersion_20201209.pdf.
The Raine Study. The Raine Study Gen2_27 year follow up, Drinks and Caffeine Questionnaire [Available from: https://rainestudy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Gen2-27_DrinksCaffeineQuestionnaire_CodingVersion_20201209.pdf.
The Raine Study. The Raine Study Gen2_27 year follow up: TiBS Study [Available from: https://rainestudy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Gen2-27_TiBs_Questionnaire_CodingVersion_20201209.pdf.
6. South Australian Population Health Survey (2020) - Government of South Australia, SA Health
Government of South Australia SH. Quick Facts: Methodology, South Australian Population Health Survey [Available from: https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/469ef673-02f7-4e95-ac49-e5cfa0c2d2a8/SAPHS+Methodology.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-469ef673-02f7-4e95-ac49-e5cfa0c2d2a8-nwL3S14.
7. Geelong Osteoporosis Study (15-year follow up for men) - Barwon Health
Pasco JA, Nicholson GC, Kotowicz MA. Cohort Profile: Geelong Osteoporosis Study. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2011;41(6):1565-75.
8. Western Australia Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System (2019) - Western Australia Department of Health
Government of Western Australia DoH. Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System, 2019 Questionnaire [Available from: https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/Files/Corporate/Reports-and-publications/Population-surveys/WA-Health-and-Wellbeing-Surveillance-System-Survey.pdf.
9. Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (1946-51 Survey Wave 9) - Australian Government Department of Health, the University of Newcastle, and the University of Queensland
Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Women's Health Australia, Ninth survey for women of the 1946-51 cohort [Available from: https://alswh.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/1946-51-survey-9-2019.pdf.
10. Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) 2019 New Person Questionnaire - Australian Government Department of Social Services, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research
Melbourne Institute. New Person Questionnaire (NPQ) W19M [Available from: https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/3115596/NewPersonQuestionnaireW19M.pdf.
11. National Health Survey (Sample) - Australian Bureau of Statistics
ABS. National Health Survey: First results. 2018.
ABS. National Health Survey: First results methodology. 2018.
12. Australian Capital Territory General Health Survey (2019) - Australian Capital Territory Health
Government A. 2019 ACT General Health Survey [Available from: https://www.health.act.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-01/ACTGHS%20Questionnaire%20final%20%28programming%20removed%29.pdf.
13. New South Wales Adult Health Survey (2019) - New South Wales Government
New South Wales Government. NSW Population Health Survey, 2019 Collection Year 2020 [Available from: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/surveys/adult/Documents/questionnaire-2019.pdf.
Raw data
If of interest, please download below the raw data used to generate the diagrams above.
Contact
For further information about the study, please contact Branislava Godic (b.godic@unimelb.edu.au) with any questions.