The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), is a longitudinal population-based study that examines the health and wellbeing of over 40,000 Australian women. Directed by Professor Annette Dobson, it also has a centre at the Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing at the University of Newcastle. The project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing with a basic grant of $1.4 million per year with many additional analyses, sub-studies and related projects funded from competitive grant programs. There have been around 300 collaborative projects associated with the study and ALSWH has over 120 current collaborators from over 30 national and international universities and institutions. The Study is scheduled to continue for at least 20 years.
Also known as Women's Health Australia, the project is designed to explore factors that influence health among women who are broadly representative of the entire Australian population. The study goes beyond a narrow perspective that equates women's health with reproductive and sexual health, and takes a comprehensive view of all aspects of health throughout women's lifespan. The sample comprises three cohorts of women who were first sampled in 1996. Women in the Younger sample were then aged 18-23, the Mid-aged women were aged 45-50, and the Older women were aged 70-75. Each cohort is surveyed once every three years. Now in its eleventh year, the study continues to provide valuable data about the health of women as they age.
Collaborations are welcomed. Please visit the Study website at www.alswh.org.au for further information about the study, including lists of publications, substudies, collaborative projects, survey questionnaires and tabulations of frequencies for data items.
Students are encouraged to contact ALSWH staff and investigators to discuss project ideas for any of the Research Directions of the Study.
Email: sph-wha@sph.uq.edu.au.
