- Title
- Representativeness of child controls recruited by random digit dialling
- Creator
- Bailey, Helen D.; Milne, Elizabeth; de Klerk , Nicholas; Fritschi, Lin; Bower, Carol; Attia, John; Armstrong, Bruce K.
- Relation
- Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology Vol. 24, Issue 3, p. 293-302
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3016.2010.01099.x
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2010
- Description
- Recruiting control subjects who are representative of the population from which the cases are drawn is a challenge in case–control studies. This paper examines the performance of random digit dialling (RDD) in obtaining a control sample, and the sample's representativeness of the population with respect to socio-economic status. The study subjects were recruited from 2003 to 2006 for a national, population-based case–control study investigating causes of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in children <15 years of age in Australia. Control families' addresses were linked to Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2006 Collection Districts and thus to Socio-Economic Indexes for Area scores, which are area-based measures of socio-economic status. These scores were compared with those of all collection districts where families lived. We estimate that 55% of eligible families in the RDD sample agreed to participate in the study. Participation was directly related to socio-economic status with those of highest economic status most likely to participate. Completeness of participation in the components of data collection was similarly related to socio-economic status. This evidence of selection according to socio-economic status indicates that there may also be selection with respect to other factors potentially important in the aetiology of ALL.
- Subject
- random digit dialling; choice of controls; bias; socio economic status; childhood cancer
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/930838
- Identifier
- uon:10940
- Identifier
- ISSN:1365-3016
- Language
- eng
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