The G. S. Watson Annual Lecture, 2005
Professor Annette Dobson
Title: "Methodological Challenges from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health"
Presenter: Professor Annette Dobson, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland
Date: Thursday, 30 June 2005, 5.30pm to 6.30pm, Education Lecture Theatre, La Trobe University, Bendigo
Abstract: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health is now in its 10th year. It involves more than 40,000 women throughout Australia who were aged 18-23 (Younger cohort), 45-50 (Mid aged cohort) and 70-75 (Older cohort) in 1996 at the time of the baseline survey. They were selected by stratified random sampling from the Medicare database with over-sampling in rural and remote areas.
The goals of the study are to determine the social, psychological, physical and environmental factors which determine good health, and those which cause ill-health, in women throughout adult life. It is funded by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing to provide policy relevant information. Self-reported data are collected every 3 years on: physical and mental health, symptoms, diagnoses; health service use, access and satisfaction; health related behaviour; and social factors related to health and well-being.
Some of the methodological challenges posed by the study include: maintenance of the cohorts; continuity of measures; missing data; and the analysis of longitudinal data. In this talk I'll describe the study and illustrate with examples how the research team is handling these challenges.