Depression in Women

The psychosocial aspect of female health is just as important as the management of Diabetes and Hypertension. The World Health Organization (WHO, n.d.) addresses women’s mental health facts as follows:

• Depressive disorders account for close to 41.9% of the disability from neuropsychiatric disorders among women compared to 29.3% among men.
• Leading mental health problems of the older adults are depression, organic brain syndromes and dementias. A majority are women.
• An estimated 80% of 50 million people affected by violent conflicts, civil wars, disasters, and displacement are women and children.
  Lifetime prevalence rate of violence against women ranges from 16% to 50%.
• At least one in five women suffer rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. Select a mental health illness as a diagnosis for a female patient, perhaps one you have encountered in the clinical setting. Describe the illness, how is it treated? What is your follow-up? Discuss how the WHO’s comprehensive mental health action plan 2013 – 2020 addresses a strategy for change in the mental health illness you selected.