The Third Australian Study of Health and Relationships (ASHR3) 2022–2023
Development of the Third Australian Study of Health and Relationships (ASHR3) began in 2019. Pilot data will be collected in September 2022. Main study data collection will commence in 2023. Analysis and publication is planned for 2024.
ASHR3 will be conducted similar to prior ASHR surveys. Half of the ASHR3 sample will be conducted via telephone (computer assisted telephone interviews, also known as CATI) using 100% mobile phones only. The remaining half of the ASHR3 sample will be conducted via an online panel called Life in Australia.
The study is being led by the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and data collection is being carried out by the Social Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
ASHR3 is funded by a grant from Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council.
ASHR3 will be conducted in 2022–2023 via a nationally representative survey of over 14,000 Australians aged 16–69 years. To achieve a representative sample, the survey will use a combination of computer assisted telephone interviewing (known as CATI) and via an online panel called Life in Australia. For the CATI portion, the survey will use random digit dialling (RDD) (100% mobile phones) and use mobile phone numbers provided by a commercial list provider. These lists include telephone numbers listed in the white pages along with lists from other parties such as charities, telemarketing companies and other business entities. The list provider is SamplePages. More information can be found on their website.
Similar methods will be used as ASHR1 and 2 to ensure continuity and comparability, while making key modifications to strengthen the design and inclusion of more contemporary topics and issues within sexual and reproductive health.
ASHR3 will provide current nationally representative prevalence estimates of sexual identity, sexual behaviours, uptake of dating websites and apps, relationship satisfaction and pleasure, sexual difficulties, pornography use, STIs, contraception, pregnancies, sexual coercion, intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion, as well as attitudes, correlates and time trends over 20 years.
Findings from ASHR3 will be used to inform and evaluate national sexual and reproductive health strategies.
The Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships (ASHR2) 2012–2013
The major report on the findings was published in the form of 12 articles in the journal Sexual Health in November 2014. A summary of key findings can be found in our Sex in Australia Summary.
If you have been a participant in our surveys, we are very grateful to you for your time and trust. Note that no published information will permit the identification of any participant in the surveys.
Since the ASHR2 main report, journal articles have been published on:
- women’s contraceptive use
- pornography users
- men paying for sex and effects of legal context
- smoking aand sexual difficulties
- emotional and sexual jealousy
- meeting sexual partners online
- reproductive outcomes (birth, miscarriage, abortion, infertility)
- sexual difficulties and problems
- contraception and condom use (dual protection)
As part of the preparation for ASHR2, we collaborated with other survey researchers to establish the differences between people contacted by landline and by mobile phone.
ASHR2 was approved by the human ethics committees of La Trobe University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney and the University of Sussex.
ASHR2 data collection was undertaken by the Hunter Research Foundation.
The First Australian Study of Health and Relationships (ASHR1) 2001–2002
ASHR1 was a representative population-based survey of the sexual health behaviours, attitudes and knowledge of Australian people. Telephone interviews were conducted with 19,307 respondents between the ages of 16 and 59 years in 2001/2002.
The sample consisted of 10,173 men and 9,134 women randomly selected from all states and territories of Australia. The response rate was 73.1% which compares favourably with other population based national samples. Most respondents indicated that they were entirely honest in their responses and not embarrassed by the questions asked. The sample was weighted to reflect the location, age and sex distribution of the 2001 census. The sample is therefore regarded as being broadly representative of the Australian population.
The content and method of the survey was informed by the experience of other largescale national surveys conducted in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France.
The primary report of the First Australian Study of Health and Relationships is published as the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Volume 27, Number 2, April 2003.