Advancing women's mental health: Recommendations from a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop

Abstract Women make up half the world's population, yet have received relatively little clinical research funding or structural support from major research agencies. Consequently, we know far less about women's health than men's health, including how to prevent and treat conditions such as anxiety and mood disorders that are more likely to occur in women vs. men. To address this issue, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently convened a workshop titled “Essential Health Care Services Related to Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Women,” which aimed to provide short- and long-term recommendations to the United States Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) regarding health care services to help improve women's mental health. In this article, we summarize the most actionable and compelling evidence-based recommendations made at the meeting that should be immediately implemented, concurrently by HRSA and other stakeholders, to help reduce lifelong disease risk and promote resilience in women. The recommendations focus on five themes, namely: (i) fund and conduct more women's health research; (ii) provide clinicians with better training and support in women's health; (iii) widen the pipeline for mental health care services and treatments for women; (iv) enact sensible policies supporting women's health and well-being; and (v) strive for better outcomes than the absence of disease using preventative and personalized approaches to addressing women's holistic health and well-being. By pursuing these five aims, we will move one step closer to helping all women thrive.