Method & Results

Method

A scoping audit was undertaken to identify Australia’s major tobacco-related datasets. Selection criteria were established and applied to all datasets located. The dataset audit and selection involved a six-step process:

1) Identification of potentially relevant datasets

Initially the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Tobacco Data Sources webpage and Tobacco in Australia: A comprehensive online resource compiled by the Cancer Council Victoria was accessed. To ensure all key tobacco-related datasets were identified, members of the Agency’s Expert Committee on Tobacco were consulted as well as other key stakeholders with an interest in tobacco-related research and data.

2) Scope and content of each dataset critiqued

Each of the key identified datasets was examined to identify their scope and content.

• The coverage of the sample e.g. who is in the sample?
• Identifying what the dataset was measuring e.g. adverse health outcomes, perceptions
• An indication of what was missing from the data.

The details provided on most datasets were identified from information that is available in the public domain.

3) Selection criteria established

The selection criteria determined whether:

• The dataset contained information collected using direct measures of tobacco-related issues
• The dataset contained national data that was representative of the Australian population or specific sub-groups of the Australian population e.g. young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culturally and linguistically diverse populations
• The dataset used a valid and appropriate methodology
• Jurisdictional or other specific (non-national) datasets were considered relevant for inclusion
• The data was readily accessible (e.g. cost involved in purchasing data)
• Data collection was ongoing rather than one-off.

4) Application of selection criteria to datasets

The selection criteria were applied to the datasets identified during Step 1 to determine datasets to be included in this document.

5) Identification of data gaps and limitations

In compiling and critiquing these datasets, data gaps and limitations in data collection were identified and detailed and scope to improve data quality highlighted.

6) Consultation with data custodians

Data custodians were asked, via email, to review the information about their particular dataset(s) for appropriateness of inclusion and content accuracy.

Results

A total of 62 tobacco-related datasets were initially identified and scrutinised. The datasets included national and jurisdictional health and wellbeing surveys, specific alcohol and other drug (AOD) surveys, specific tobacco-related surveys, school surveys, hospital separation data collections, tobacco-related death data collections, and jurisdictional monitoring and surveillance data collections.

After the selection criteria were applied, 50 datasets met the established criteria. For each dataset, summary details of the data custodian, data availability, purpose of collection, methodology, year of most recent collection, and strengths and limitations have been presented. Although excluded from the final list, 8 of the remaining 12 datasets are listed at Appendix 1 as they may provide the reader with useful information for select and more limited purposes.

The 50 key identified tobacco-related datasets were categorised[1] as follows:

• National datasets covering the population of Australia;
• Jurisdictional datasets covering the population of one or more states and territories;
• Longitudinal datasets, cohort studies conducted with one group over a period of time; and
• Special population datasets focusing on one group in the population such as school children, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and prisoners.

[1] Some of the datasets in the latter two categories could also be categorised as either national or jurisdictional.

Commonly Used Tobacco Datasets

While a wide array of tobacco-related datasets was identified, seven of the most comprehensive and commonly used datasets were:

• National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) – collected triennially by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The NDSHS is a national survey of Australians’ awareness, attitudes and behaviours relating to tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use. The National Tobacco Strategy 2012-2018 notes that at the time the Strategy was prepared, the NDSHS was the most current and comprehensive national tobacco-related data source available (Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs, 2012).
• National Health Survey (NHS) – collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) every three years. Data on tobacco consumption is collected in every NHS cycle. The 2011–13 Australian Health Survey (AHS) included the existing NHS component, as well as two additional elements: a National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) and a National Health Measures Survey (NHMS). This makes the AHS the largest, most comprehensive health survey ever conducted in Australia. The 2011–13 AHS combined smoking information from the NHS and NNPAS, allowing analysis of a larger sample. The focus of the tobacco-related data was on 'regular smoking' defined as one or more cigarettes, pipes or cigars per day reported by the respondent (ABS, 2011).
• Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey (ASSADS) – collected triennially by the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council of Victoria. The ASSADS is a national survey of the prevalence and patterns of tobacco, alcohol and other drug consumption among Australian secondary school students. Students are asked about their lifetime and current use of tobacco (White and Bariola, 2012).
• National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) – collected annually by the AIHW. Diagnoses, procedures and external causes of injury are recorded using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM). Relevant tobacco codes in the ICD-10-AM include F17.0, F17.1, F17.2-17.9, & T65.2.
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) – collected every six years (to date data collections have occurred in 2002 and 2008) by the ABS. The NATSISS provides information on a range of demographic, social, environmental and economic indicators (ABS, 2009).
• Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) – random sample of general practitioners’ clinical activities collected annually by the Family Medicine Research Centre, University of Sydney. The BEACH program collects information about the GPs, patients seen, reasons people seek medical care and problems managed. Patients over the age of 18 years are asked about their current smoking status (Britt et al., 2011).
• Specific state and territory-based data collections – for example, New South Wales Population Heath Survey; Self-Reported Health Status Queensland; The South Australian Monitoring and Surveillance System; Victorian Population Health Survey; and the Western Australian Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System.
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