Although women make up half of the world’s population, there is relatively little research focus, leading to a lack of mental health care for women. A Perspective shares key takeaways from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop “Essential Health Services Related to Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Women.” This workshop was organized to provide recommendations to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. This Perspective describes the challenges women face and offers some evidence-based solutions.
George Slavich and colleagues point out that women experience anxiety and depression at much higher rates than men. Women also suffer from disproportionately higher rates of autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, heart disease, and stroke. Women are also more likely than men to experience violence and discrimination, which increases their risk of developing mental and physical health problems.
The authors call for more research on women’s hormones and health, additional training for clinicians in women’s mental health, and insurance changes to better cover clinicians for the treatment and prevention of mental health problems. The authors also call for investments in the workforce to expand the pipeline of mental health care services and treatments. Scalable solutions such as group therapy, telemedicine, and online support services can help reduce the burden on healthcare systems. More broadly, the authors advocate for policies that reduce the stress women have to deal with. According to the authors, such policies include paid maternity leave, limits on social media use by young people, and financial support for long-term care and home health services.
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Reference magazines:
Mengelkoch, S. Others. (2026) Advancing women’s mental health: Recommendations from a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop. PNAS Nexus. DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag118. https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/6/pgag118/8699331
