The Australasian Epidemiological Association - membership profile and their views on the Association’s future strategic directions

Abstract

The Australasian Epidemiological Association (AEA) formed in 1987 and is the peak professional body for epidemiologists in Australia and New Zealand. In the past 20 years, the discipline of epidemiology in Australia has grown in response to increased demands for evidence-based practice and advances in technology such as data linkage. As such, the professional development and support needs of epidemiologists working in Australia may have changed since the inception of the AEA. This paper aims to describe the membership profile of the AEA and report on the views of members about the future directions of the AEA as identified in a membership survey undertaken in 2007. The survey was initially emailed in March 2007 to all 567 financial members of the AEA. Two hundred and twenty-five (40%) members responded and were broadly representative of the 2006/2007 AEA membership in terms of sex, age and residence. Members were predominantly female, located in New South Wales or Victoria, aged between 30 and 49, working at a university or research institute, had joined the AEA within the past five years and was a member of at least one other professional organisation. Most AEA members had a PhD and a high level of introductory or advanced training in both epidemiology and biostatistics. A range of epidemiological interest and expertise areas are represented within the AEA membership. Information obtained in the survey shall be used to inform AEA council decisions on the future direction of AEA and how to best attend to its diverse membership.