National Women's Health Policy
Chapter Two: Key health challenges for Australian women today and into the future
- Foreword - From the Minister for Health and Ageing
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
Chapter One: History of the policy and policy principles
Chapter Two: Key health challenges for Australian women today and into the future- Chapter Three: Women's experience of health issues
- Current and future government action against the four priority health issues
- Social factors influencing women's health and wellbeing
- Goal areas
- Appendix A - List of all submissions received
- References - 1-100
- References - 101 - 200
- References - 201 - 300
- References - 301 - 400
- References - 401 - 457
Australian women’s life expectancy at birth has shown dramatic improvements over the past century, increasing from 59 years in the early 1900s to around 87 in 2007.1 There have been remarkable health gains overall for women in areas such as rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer and a reduction in the number of women smoking. However, many issues such as obesity and mental health remain significant problems for women, and the burden of disease associated with dementia in women is estimated to double in the next 20 years.2
This chapter provides an overview of the health of Australian women and highlights those health priorities and targeted conditions that will form the greatest challenges over the next two decades for the health system, policy makers, health professionals and individual women.