Women's Health Australia homepage about the Women's Health Australia project Women's Health Australia staff Women's Health Australia current events Women's Health Australia surveys and data Women's Health Australia substudies information for Women's Health Australia participants University of Newcastle contact Women's Health Australia Women's Health Australia publications and presentations University of Queenlsand Women's Health Australia homepage about the Women's Health Australia project Women's Health Australia staff Women's Health Australia current events Women's Health Australia surveys and data Women's Health Australia substudies information for Women's Health Australia participants University of Newcastle contact Women's Health Australia Women's Health Australia publications and presentations Women's Health Australia homepage about the Women's Health Australia project Women's Health Australia staff Women's Health Australia current events Women's Health Australia surveys and data Women's Health Australia substudies information for Women's Health Australia participants University of Newcastle contact Women's Health Australia Women's Health Australia publications and presentations Women's Health Australia homepage about the Women's Health Australia project Women's Health Australia staff Women's Health Australia current events Women's Health Australia surveys and data Women's Health Australia substudies information for Women's Health Australia participants University of Newcastle contact Women's Health Australia Women's Health Australia publications and presentations

Women's Health Australia homepage about the Women's Health Australia project Women's Health Australia staff Women's Health Australia current events Women's Health Australia surveys and data Women's Health Australia substudies information for Women's Health Australia participants University of Newcastle contact Women's Health Australia Women's Health Australia publications and presentations Women's Health Australia homepage about the Women's Health Australia project Women's Health Australia staff Women's Health Australia current events Women's Health Australia surveys and data Women's Health Australia substudies information for Women's Health Australia participants University of Newcastle contact Women's Health Australia Women's Health Australia publications and presentations Welcome to Women's Health Australia (WHA)

 
 


Book Chapter published in 2002

Young A. Putting data into context: Findings from linking Medicare health service use and expenditure data with longitudinal health survey data.

Introduction: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, is a study of the health and well being of three large cohorts of Australian women. The ALSWH has made extensive use of linked survey and Medicare/Department of Veterans' Affairs data. Results are presented to illustrate the value of the linked data for informing policy makers about provision of health services and for monitoring compliance with best practice guidelines. Methods: The project recruited three large, nationally representative cohorts of women, aged 18-23 years (n=14,228), 45-50 years (n=13,338) and 70-75 years (n=12,317) in 1996. Self-administered postal surveys are completed every three years and include a wide range of measures of demographic, social and health-related factors. Almost 23,000 of the women have given written consent for the release of their individual records from the Health Insurance Commission. Data relating to more than 1.5 million Medicare/DVA services provided to these women during 1995-1999 have been linked to the first two phases of their survey data. Changes in health, health service use and the costs of services were examined according to age, urban/rural residence and socioeconomic status. Analysis of the linked data for subgroups of women, such as frequent attenders to general practice, and the use of best practice guidelines for diabetes care were also examined. Results: For all age groups, women with lower socioeconomic status tended to have lower out of pocket costs for general practice visits. However, women in rural and remote areas reported poorer access to doctors who bulk bill and Medicare data showed these women had higher out of pocket costs than women living in urban areas. Many of the very frequent attenders to general practice had suffered a major personal illness, and the survey data showed that many also had very difficult personal and social circumstances. Women with diabetes, and those who developed diabetes, reported poorer health and greater use of health services and medications than women without diabetes. Medicare data helped to quantify the increased health service use and expenditure over time (for services outside hospital) for these women. However their Medicare data also showed that compliance with best practice guidelines for diabetes care, such as monitoring HbA1c, was sub-optimal. Conclusions: The linked data provide information on medical conditions and social circumstances which are valuable for understanding health service use. Inequalities in the provision and costs of health care services were identified. The linked data can be used to monitor compliance with best practice guidelines for care and to determine the impact of strategies designed to improve the health and well being of women.
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Last updated: 9 June 2006 by Cath Chojenta © Copyright