Australia-wide – Page 14 – Women's Health Hub

Healthy Ageing

10/09/2005/in Australia-wide, Evidence / Statistics /by admin

Publisher: Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health, 2005

Status – CURRENT

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) provides a picture of ageing that challenges negative stereotypes. At the time of the first survey in 1996, the women in the older cohort were aged 70-75 years. These women were selected at random from the population and represented the full range of health and functioning at that age. At this time over one third of the women rated their health as excellent or very good and fewer than five percent rated their health as poor. By Survey 3 in 2002, although the women were aged 76-81, the overall responses on self-rated health were unchanged.

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Young Women: Tobacco, Alcohol and other drugs

10/09/2005/in Australia-wide, Evidence / Statistics /by admin

Publisher: Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health, 2005

Status – CURRENT

There is public concern about young women’s use of tobacco, alcohol and other recreational drugs. In particular, there is a perception that it is increasing, and there is apprehension about potential long term consequences. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) supports concerns that tobacco continues to pose a major challenge to women’s health. Evidence from the Study suggests that inappropriate use of alcohol and other drugs is relatively uncommon and is often limited to a brief period in young women’s lives. Nevertheless it has the potential for serious long-term consequences

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Paid Work and Women’s Health

10/09/2005/in Australia-wide, Evidence / Statistics /by admin

Publisher: Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health, 2005

Status – Current

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) regularly collects information about how women use their time, including the amount of time spent in paid and unpaid work and leisure, and relates this to health and well-being. As research has repeatedly shown, Australian women of all ages are spending more time in the paid workforce, but still take the main responsibility for the unpaid care of their families, whatever their paid employment commitments. Despite this, ALSWH data show that, at least in middle age, women with paid work are in better health than those without, but the desirable amount of paid work varies depending on women’s other responsibilities.

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The First Decade

10/09/2005/in Australia-wide, Evidence / Statistics /by admin

Publisher: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, 2005

Status – CURRENT

In 1996 over 40,000 Australian women were invited take part in a long term project which would survey the health of women across the nation, over time. The participants were selected in three age cohorts: younger women aged 18-23, mid-age women aged 45-50, and older women aged 70-75. These groups were deliberately chosen in order to recruit women before they passed through major turning points in women’s lives. With eight years of change now tracked in the surveys, the study is providing insights into major trends in the lives of Australian women.

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Health and Experience of Violence Among Young Australian Women

10/16/2004/in Australia-wide, Evidence / Statistics /by admin

Publisher: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, 2004

Status – CURRENT

Violence against women is associated with serious reproductive outcomes. These include unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, high rates of abortion, low birth-weight, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection, and the murder of both mother and child. Violence against women also impacts on their general physical and mental health.

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Healthy activity, healthy weight, healthy women

10/16/2003/in Australia-wide, Evidence / Statistics /by admin

Publisher: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, 2003

Status – Current

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) offers the first opportunity in Australia to explore the relationships between physical activity and weight and the development and progression of chronic disease in three cohorts of Australian women. The study also provides the opportunity to track changes in physical activity and weight through natural life-stages, and to document the individual and social factors which are associated with changes in these variables across the adult life-span.

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Health in Rural and remote areas of Australia

10/16/2003/in Australia-wide, Evidence / Statistics /by admin

Publisher: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, 2003

Status – CURRENT

Younger rural women’s aspirations and life experiences are very different from those of their city cousins (see Figures 1 and 2). Rural women marry younger and have more children, at an earlier age, than urban women. They are also less likely to have completed high school or have post-secondary qualifications. Rural women of all ages are more likely to do unpaid work in the family business or farm. Lack of qualifications and experience, combined with a depressed rural job market, restrict their options for paid work.

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Abortion Policy

10/14/2002/in Australia-wide, AWHN Position /by admin

Publisher: Australian Women’s Health Network, 2002

Status – CURRENT

The Australian Women’s Health Network recognises that access to safe termination of pregnancy services is an important women’s health issue but that there is a wide range of ethical and religious beliefs regarding abortion in the Australian community. Despite the diversity of views, the vast majority of Australians support a woman’s right to choose.

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ABORTION AND BREAST CANCER POLICY

03/14/2002/in Australia-wide, AWHN Position /by admin

Publisher: Australian Women’s Health Network, 2002

Status – CURRENT

The Australian Women’s Health Network recognises that there is controversy about whether induced abortion increases the risk of breast cancer but that the best available evidence indicates that induced abortion does not increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer later in life.

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Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health: Annual Report- First Five years

10/09/1999/in Australia-wide, Evidence / Statistics /by admin

Publisher: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, 1999

Status – Current

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (now known as the Women’s Health Australia Project (WHA)) commenced in June 1995 as a result of initiatives arising from the National Women’s Health Policy. The project has two components: large scale surveys of three ‘main’ cohorts of women selected by age and smaller studies of indigenous and migrant women. The studies of the main cohorts are conducted by the University of Newcastle and the special cohort studies are conducted by the University of Queensland. This report covers the initial funding period from 1995 to 1999. In future there will be Annual Reports in this series.

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