Monitoring Health and Well-Being in Emerging Adults: Protocol for a Pilot Longitudinal Cohort Study

Background: Emerging adulthood is a unique segment of an individual's life course. The defining features of this transitional period include identity exploration, instability, future possibilities, self-focus, and feeling in-between adolescence and adulthood, all of which are thought to affect quality of life, health, and well-being. A longitudinal cohort study with a comprehensive set of measures would be a unique and valuable resource for improving the understanding of the multi-faceted elements and unique challenges that contribute to the health and well-being of emerging adults. Objective: The main aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of recruiting university graduates to establish a longitudinal cohort study to inform our understanding of emerging adulthood. Methods: This is a pilot longitudinal cohort study of Australian university graduates. It will involve collecting information via online surveys (baseline and 12-month follow-up) and data linkage with health records. Recruitment, response, and retention rates will be calculated. Descriptive analysis of the representativeness of recruited participants and completeness of survey responses will be conducted. Results: Participant recruitment was completed in October 2018, and data collection for the baseline and follow-up surveys was completed in November 2019. As of April 2020, the process of acquiring health records from administrative data collections has commenced. Conclusions: The findings from this pilot study will identify areas for improvement and inform the development of a future longitudinal cohort study of emerging adults.