1/1/1996 — Ongoing 1996 — Ongoing 13/2/2025
The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (known as Women’s Health Australia to its participants) is the largest, longest-running project of its kind ever conducted in Australia. The population-based survey explores the factors contributing to the health and wellbeing of over 57,000 Australian women* in four cohorts.
*We acknowledge that the boundaries around what “women’s health” incorporates are not always clear, and that sex and gender are distinct concepts. Although it is necessary for us to collect information on health topics related to the female sex (i.e. menstruation, childbirth, menopause), we acknowledge that not everyone who identifies as a woman experiences these female-specific health issues or identifies as female.
The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) is a national, longitudinal, population-based study. ALSWH explores factors that influence health among women who are broadly representative of the entire Australian population.
The Study takes a comprehensive view of all aspects of health throughout a woman’s lifespan. It is the largest project of its kind ever conducted in Australia and has an international reputation for its multidisciplinary methodology.
The key components of ALSWH are:
- A survey program examining the health of more than 57,000 women in four age cohorts for over 20 years.
- An extensive data linkage program involving national and state administrative health records.
- A sophisticated data-sharing system facilitating wide-spread research collaboration.
The purpose of the project is to provide scientifically valid information, based on current, accurate data that is relevant to the development of health policy and practice in women’s health. By looking at the factors contributing to the physical and emotional health of individual women in Australia, ALSWH particularly aims to provide information that will assist State and Federal Governments to plan for the future and to develop policies which are most appropriate to Australians of all ages in the twenty-first century. Additionally, the project aims to clarify cause-and-effect relationships between women’s health and a range of biological, psychological, social and lifestyle factors, and to assess the effects of changes in health policy and practice.
ALSWH aims to help shape the future of women’s health in Australia by:
- Identifying the social, psychological, physical and environmental factors which determine good health, and those which cause ill-health, in women throughout adult life.
- Identifying when, if and how the health system meets the health needs of women and helping to guide future policy and planning of women’s health care services.
- Providing information on the long term health effects of events in women’s lives and on the factors that modify these effects.
- Giving an opportunity for Australian women to have a say about their health and health services.
- Providing a national research resource on women’s health issues.
- Providing data which will help motivate women to participate in decision making on health.
Please visit the study website to find out more: www.alswh.org.au
National
Consent-based cohort study
| Language | english |
| Format | txt sas spss stata |
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