The Australian longitudinal study of health and relationships

BackgroundEnsuring the sexual and reproductive health of the population is essential for the wellbeing of a nation. At least three aspects of sexual and reproductive health are among the key policy issues for present Australian governments: maintaining and increasing the birth rate; reducing the abortion rate; and preventing and controlling Chlamydia infections.The overall aim of the Australian Longitudinal Study of Health and Relationships is to document the natural history of the sexual and reproductive health of the Australian adult population.Methods/designA nationally representative sample of Australian adults 16&ndash;64 years of age was selected in a two-phase process in 2004&ndash;2005. Eligible households were identified through random digit dialling. We used separate sampling frames for men and women; where there was more than one eligible person in a household the participant was selected randomly. Participants completed a computer-assisted telephone interview that typically took approximately 25 minutes to complete. The response rate was 56%. A total of 8,656 people were interviewed, of whom 95% (8243) agreed to be contacted again 12 months later. Of those, approximately 82% have been re-contacted and re-interviewed in 2006&ndash;07 (Wave Two), with 99% of those agreeing to be contacted again for Wave Three.DiscussionALSHR represents a significant advance for research on the linked topics of sexual and reproductive health. Its strengths include the large sample size, the inclusion of men as well as women, and the wide age range of the participants.<br /

Quit Your Job and Get Healthier? The Effect of Retirement on Health

Job, Retirement, Health,

The retirement behaviour of the self-employed in Britain

We analyze the retirement behaviour of older self-employed workers, using a life cycle framework and a multinomial logit model of dynamic employment and retirement choices. Using data from the two-wave Retirement Survey, we find that greater actual or potential earnings decrease the probability of retirement among the self-employed. In contrast to employees, none of gender, health or family circumstances appear to affect self-employed retirement decisions. The dynamic analysis reveals that relatively few employees and virtually no retirees switch into self-employment in later life. The switches that do occur are motivated less by attempts to use self-employment as a bridge job or 'stepping stone' to full retirement, than by self-employment being a last resort for less affluent workers with job histories of weak attachment to the labour market. We compare self-employed and employee retirement behaviour and discuss the policy implications of our results.