Identifying data sources and data availability
Data sources for each of the priority topic areas for data development were identified through a structured review of available national data collections.
The following factors guided the selection of existing data collections for the data strategy:
- geographic coverage (preferably national, or feasible to expand across all or most jurisdictions)
- representativeness of the target population, including priority populations and service providers
- frequency (how often the data source is updated and whether past or future collections enable ongoing monitoring or time-series analysis)
- inclusion of at least some relevant sexual and reproductive health data elements or items.
Future data development work will also consider data sources as appropriate for use and development based on:
- potential for data linkage
- ethics and consent processes
- privacy issues
- ability to access data
- governance and data transmission arrangements
- data ownership
- costs.
Data sources will be assessed against the AIHW and Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data quality framework.
Data collections not included were those that:
- are one-off studies (that is, they will not be repeated)
- lack sufficient coverage
- are not representative of the target population
- have small sample sizes that cannot be generalised to the Australian population.
However, relevant data items from these data collections may be used as examples during new data development, including to support comparability and use of validated questions. For example, questions and/or methodologies used in several state-level population health surveys could inform the development of a national survey.
Data sources used in this strategy include national administrative data sets and collections, linked data assets, state and territory administrative data sets and collections, data from service providers, and survey data with national coverage. Smaller surveys, including those conducted at a jurisdictional level, are out of scope as they cannot be combined for national coverage.