The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) is a longitudinal population-based survey which examines the health of an existing large national sample of Australian women.
The Study collects important health data through regular surveys of Australian women in four cohorts (which encompass the adult life span), and subsequent linkage of survey data to administrative health datasets.
Since 1996, the Study has used these data to work with the Department of Health and Aged Care to produce evidence to support policy development and contribute to guidelines for health professionals and for health service provision. Data are also made available for research use, and since the Study began, over 900 scientific publications have been produced.
ALSWH is the largest project of its kind ever conducted in Australia and has an international reputation for its multidisciplinary methodology.
The study is jointly administered by The University of Newcastle and The University of Queensland.
Aims
The objectives and outcomes of ALSWH are to:
- Collect scientifically valid information that is relevant to Commonwealth and State Government departments to form an evidence base for policy and practice development
- Clarify the cause-and-effect relationships between a range of biological, psychological, social and lifestyle factors and women’s health
- Assess the effects of changes in policy and practice
- Investigate all aspects of health and wellbeing throughout women’s lifespans
Cohorts
The ALSWH has been continuously funded by the Federal Government to collect information from over 57,000 women from across Australia since 1996. These dedicated women have completed regular surveys, provided biological samples and physical measures, taken part in qualitative interviews, and allowed their information to be linked to Medicare, hospitals, perinatal, cancer registry, aged care, and other data for over 25 years.
Their generosity provides information covering women aged 18 to 102 years.
ALSWH: a national research resource
born 1989-95
1989-95 cohort
Data from ages 18-31 (2013-2021)
Recruited via social media
born 1973-78
1973-78 cohort
Data from ages
18-48 (1996-2021)
Recruited via Medicare
born 1946-51
1946-51 cohort
Data from ages
45-76 (1996-2022)
Recruited via Medicare
born 1921-26
1921-26 cohort
Data from ages
70-101 (1996-2022)
Recruited via Medicare
NHMRC, MRFF, and the Department of Health and Aged Care have also funded studies to support data collections about and from the children of the women in the study, which have been linked with AEDC and NAPLAN data, facilitating inter-generational comparisons.
