Twenty years on, the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (better known as Women’s Health Australia) is the largest, longest running study on women’s health in the country. Since the study commenced in 1996, a joint team from The University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle has kept track of some 58,000 women, processed 250,000 surveys, sent 2.5 million emails and analysed 114 million responses to questions. The result is a national research resource like no other.
Women’s Health Australia is funded by the Department of Health to provide an evidence base for women’s health policy and practice. The study has proven to be a goldmine for policy makers, being cited in a host of state and national policies and guidelines – most notably, the 2010 National Women’s Health Policy and the 2014 Australian Physical Activity Guidelines.
As study director Professor Gita Mishra from the UQ School of Public Health explains, the study initially recruited three cohorts from around Australia in 1996. Participants were drawn from various age groups to examine how critical stages across the life course impact women’s health.
Deputy director of the study, Associate Professor Leigh Tooth, says the new sub-study will offer a broad perspective. “One of the really unique things about this particular sub-study is the inclusion of multiple children from the same family. We can look at outcomes across families, and we can dig down and start to look at differences between siblings.”
The children’s data will be coupled with health and education records, as well as the Women’s Health Australia study, providing 20 years of data on the mother’s health, lifestyle and sociodemographic factors. Dr Tooth is eager to see research begin. “Linked together, the surveys will paint an incredibly rich picture. We’ll have unparalleled insight into the complex relationships between a mother’s health, before and after childbirth, and her children’s health and development.”