Dr Hayley Guiney1, Dr Sarah White1
1Jean Hailes For Women’s Health, Australia
Biography:
Dr Sarah White is the Chief Executive Officer of Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, Australia’s national digital gateway for women’s health information and the leading non-governmental organisation providing women’s health information and education to the general public and health professionals. Sarah is also a member of the Victorian Women’s Health Advisory Council and the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Women’s Health Products Working Group. She has a PhD in paediatric genetics and is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne’s School of Psychological Sciences.
Abstract:
Aims:
It is critical that women have access to trusted, accurate and engaging information about menopause. To inform effective health communication strategies, this study will provide new national data on how midlife Australian women seek, evaluate, and use health information.
Methods:
The National Women’s Health Survey (NWHS) is an annual cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of ~3,500 Australian women. The 2026 NWHS (fieldwork in May) will examine the health information sources women use, their trust in different sources, and how they assess the credibility of different sources in a crowded and sometimes confusing information environment.
Results:
Analysis will focus on midlife women (aged 40–64), spanning perimenopause to post-menopause. Results will describe women’s health information environment, identify subgroups who may need greater support navigating that environment, and provide insights to help practitioners and communicators more effectively reach and engage women at this life stage.
Conclusions:
In an era of widespread health misinformation, it is essential that trusted, accurate information reaches women in ways they readily understand and in the channels they already use. Data from the 2026 NWHS will provide the latest Australian evidence to support targeted health communication and stronger public health messaging around menopause.