The Australian Living Evidence Collaboration (ALEC) is partnering with leading health and research organisations in the development of new Australian Perimenopause and Menopause Guidelines.
Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the guidelines will support healthcare professionals in their care of women experiencing perimenopause and menopause.
The guidelines will be developed and disseminated in partnership with four leading organisations:
Jean Hailes for Women’s Health
Endocrine Society of Australia
Australasian Menopause Society
Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
And endorsed by the following Member Organisations:
The details for the new guidelines are currently being determined. We are inviting all healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers and people with lived experience to tell us what they believe should be the priorities.
ALEC are committed to building diverse and inclusive governance structures and panels that will underpin the development of these guidelines. We are actively seeking participants from a range of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to join us.
ALEC and our partners are currently inviting clinical participants to apply for a position on the following panels.
Express your interest today via this form.
Steering Committee
The guidelines will be overseen by a Steering Committee which is composed of a representative from each of the member organisations. All recommendations must receive 100% endorsement from Steering Committee members before publication.
Guideline Leadership Group (GLG)
The GLG will provide clinical governance through review of all new or revised recommendations, check for consistency in guidance within and between Panels, agree on the new or revised recommendations to be submitted to the Steering Committee for approval, prioritise new topics for evidence review, and provide advice to the Steering Committee on any emerging clinical, research, or strategic issues that may impact the work of the guideline.
Clinical Panels
The exact number and focus of Clinical Panels will be determined following our prioritisation activity over the next couple of months. These panels will develop PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes) criteria for relevant prioritised clinical questions, consider the research evidence, develop recommendations and identify aspects of care not addressed by existing guidance. All recommendations developed at the Clinical Panel will be forwarded to the Guideline Leadership Group for their input.
Lived Experience Panel
To ensure the views and perspectives of people currently or recently experiencing perimenopause or menopause are included in the guidelines, the Lived Experience Panel will consist of people with different backgrounds, perspectives, skills and experiences.
Members of the Lived Experience Panel will provide input to the evidence team, panels, GLG and Steering Committee about what specific questions the guideline should answer, provide feedback on draft recommendations and discuss what people from different backgrounds might value or consider important.
An Expression of Interest form will be available for people with lived experience to apply for our panel very soon.
Over the next two years, these guidelines will bring together peak health professional bodies from across Australia to develop guidance that will provide better outcomes for people experiencing perimenopause and menopause.
We will be working closely with specialists, GPs, allied health professionals and people with lived experience to ensure the guidelines are thorough, clear and useful.
Using ALEC’s Living Evidence model will enable the guideline development process to be iterative and responsive while maintaining rigorous methods of evidence appraisal, approval and endorsement.
ALEC’s team of experts will review the research from around the world with a focus on priority topics including adults experiencing perimenopause, early menopause, natural menopause, and early post menopause.
Panels of health professionals, researchers, and people with lived experience will meet regularly with ALEC’s evidence team to draft recommendations based on the research evidence.
A representative from each of the Member Organisations will be asked to endorse the draft recommendations at a Steering Committee meeting before we take the drafts to the public for feedback.
The draft recommendations are then shared with the public. This gives the community a chance to provide feedback over a 30 day period and helps make sure the advice is clear, useful and appropriate.
Once public consultation is complete, and feedback incorporated where appropriate, the draft recommendations are sent to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for approval.
The guidelines can then be used by health professionals for up-to-date advice on how to care for women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. The recommendations will maintain their draft status until approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
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