Journal article
Systematic review of record linkage studies of mortality in ex-prisoners: Why (good) methods matter
SA Kinner, S Forsyth, G Williams
Addiction | Published : 2013
DOI: 10.1111/add.12010
Abstract
Aims: World-wide, more than 30 million people move through prisons annually. Record linkage studies have identified an increased risk of death in ex-prisoners. In order to inform preventive interventions it is necessary to understand who is most at risk, when and why. Limitations of existing studies have rendered synthesis and interpretation of this literature difficult. The aim of this study was to describe methodological characteristics of existing studies and make recommendations for the design, analysis and reporting of future studies. Methods: Systematic review of studies using record linkage to explore mortality in ex-prisoners. Based on analysis of these studies we illustrate how meth..
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Awarded by NHMRC
Funding Acknowledgements
This work benefited from the input of A/Professor Suhail Doi from the School of Population Health, University of Queensland, who provided methodological guidance and tools for pooled analysis. The authors would also like to thank Queensland Corrective Services and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for assistance with data linkage and A/Professor Catherine Gallagher for advice on constructing the literature search and data abstraction tool. The MARC project received funding from NHMRC project grant no. 456109. A/Professor Kinner is supported by NHMRC Career Development Fellowship no. 1004765. Mr Forsyth is supported by a scholarship from NHMRC project grant no. 456109.