Whole-Person Approach to Women’s Health Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has led significant advancements in women’s health research, addressing issues like cervical cancer prevention through the HPV vaccine and heart disease mitigation with statins. Despite these achievements, more work is needed in areas such as autoimmune diseases, chronic pain, and postpartum depression.

A recent White House workshop convened NIH experts to discuss a “whole-person” approach to women’s health, emphasizing the role of biological, social, and structural factors across a woman’s lifespan. Historically, women were excluded from clinical trials until a 1993 law mandated their inclusion; today, NIH research actively explores biological sex differences to better understand conditions that disproportionately affect women, such as autoimmune diseases.

In 2025, NIH will invest $200 million in interdisciplinary women’s health research, focusing on critical life stages, including menarche, pregnancy, and menopause, as well as conditions unique to or more prevalent among women. This renewed commitment, spurred by the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, aims to address disparities in maternal health, particularly among Black women, and to ensure comprehensive, equitable health outcomes. NIH’s strategy integrates a whole-person perspective into every stage of research, from question formulation to treatment development, to meet the unique needs of women throughout their lives.