The Value of Massachusetts Resident Lists as a Basis for Sampling Frames for Epidemiological Studies

• Activity Number: 259
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Biometrics Section*
• Author(s): Carol Link*+ and John McKinlay and Julie Dunn and Stephanie Fonda
• Affiliation(s): New England Research Institutes and New England Research Institutes and New England Research Institutes and New England Research Institutes
• Keywords: sampling frame ; epidemiology

Abstract

Massachusetts has a unique resource that is useful in developing sampling frames for epidemiological studies. Residents are asked, yearly, to complete a list of occupants, including date of birth, of their dwelling unit as of January 1. These lists are publicly available during the following summer. Studies at the New England Research Institutes have frequently made use of these lists for their studies. The authors consider the accuracy of these lists in two studies, one recently completed, the other in its initial phase. A study of the epidemiology of foot and ankle disorders in the elderly has recently been completed, using a sampling frame of the Springfield resident list and Medicare recipients. A study currently underway in Boston includes an initial sub-study comparing direct enumeration of blocks with the use of the Boston resident lists in order to locate Hispanic, African-American non-Hispanic, and Caucasian non-Hispanic residents age 30-79.