Recruiters hit the street

It’s that time of year again for the ACON’S periodic survey, so don’t be alarmed if a recruiter approaches you to ask some rather personal question.

Held biannually for the past 13 years, the periodic survey is an important tool for gauging shifts in community perceptions of safe sex, drug use and the effectiveness of various ACON add campaigns.

Recruiter Jimi Gonian said roughly 3500 surveys are completed each year, which provide invaluable information to the service.

The type of information collected allows us to see what type of behaviour men are engaging in, to see what their sexual, social and drug taking practices are like, which is important for an organisation like ACON so we can be aware of any trends that are developing and tell if messages of safe sex are getting through, Gonian said.

The recruiters tend to go to the same venues each time so we’re likely to get a similar group of people each time. It makes it an effective way to track behaviour and is also really useful for ACON to tell if their advertising campaigns are working properly or if they need to modify their tactics.

It’s a really worthwhile exercise. Not that I’ve had any negative experiences in the past, but people really shouldn’t be scared if they get approached to fill out a survey. It only takes 10 minutes and is totally confidential.

info: The ACON periodic survey will take place over 17 venues throughout Sydney from August 23-31. All answers given will be totally confidential.