About the Mother’s and their Children’s Health Substudy

Mothers and their Children’s Health – MatCH – is a substudy of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (also known as Women’s Health Australia). We are entering the second wave of data collection – MatCH 2, collecting data on children and adolescents aged 0-19 years.

The substudy combines detailed data from the 1973-78 Cohort with new information about their children. It investigates how maternal and family characteristics – collected for over 20 years – impact the health and development of the next generation. The MatCH substudy paints a picture of family health and health service use that is unparalleled. By collecting this valuable information as children transition into adolescence (MatCH 2), the substudy can support a more integrated and targeted approach to health care for all Australian families.

MatCH is approved by The University of Newcastle and The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committees (Protocols H-2014-0246 and 2014001213, respectively). Subject to mothers’ consent, MatCH 2 seeks to include children’s linked health and educational records. [Read more about MatCH data linkage].

MatCH 2 is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. The first wave of MatCH data collection was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council 2014 – 2019.