Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) is a longitudinal survey of more than 40,000 women in three cohorts who were aged 18-23, 45-50 and 70-75 when surveys began in 1996. In 2012/13 more than 10,000 young women aged 18-23 were recruited to form a new cohort. The ALSWH assesses women’s physical and mental health, as well as psychosocial aspects of health (such as socio-demographic and lifestyle factors) and their use of health services. Since its inception, ALSWH has provided invaluable data about the health of women across the lifespan, and informed federal and state government policies across a wide range of issues. The study is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and is scheduled to continue until at least 2016.