45 and Up COVID Insights

Project summary 45 and Up COVID Insights is an agile research program seeking to understand the impacts of COVID and deliver timely evidence to guide decision-making. What is the issue for NSW? In the emerging and evolving context of COVID NSW needs reliable and timely information to help support effective decision making. Currently, there is an absence of existing population level evidence that can be drawn from, and the wide ranging and long term impacts of COVID and its resulting policies and restrictions remains unknown. Close collaboration between researchers and policy makers is also needed to ensure that when research is being conducted, the right questions are being asked. And when the results are in, to ensure that the evidence can quickly be adapted to inform policies and practice. What does the research aim to do and how? 45 and Up COVID Insights aims to understand the impact of COVID-19 and related policies and restrictions on the health and wellbeing of the people of NSW. There are two key components of the research: a series of five short surveys conducted every two months with 45 and Up participants enrolled in the study; and the creation of an enduring linked data asset enabling longitudinal analyses of a range of health impacts and outcomes. The research is being conducted collaboratively with the NSW Ministry of Health and involves close consultation with end users around the identification of research themes and priorities.