Abstract
This report compares the use of and access to Medicare funded health care services for women in Australia across the life course. It draws on data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), a longitudinal survey of over 58,000 women from across four cohorts of women: women born in 1921-26, 1946-51, 1973-78, and 1989-95. The report investigates the use and cost of general practitioners, specialist services, and pathology services, as well as special items such as psychological services, assisted reproductive technology, 75+ aged care assessments, and telehealth. It then considers how these vary by circumstances and life course stage, including before and after the birth of a first child, before and after menopause, after a fall, and in the last year of life, as well by area of residence, level of education, and health care card status. The life course approach adopted in this report focuses on how factors impacting women's health and health service use change across life stages. For instance, a more detailed understanding of the use of health services as a young woman, compared with a working mother, to a woman post menopause, can guide the provision of health services in the future.
