Gender and Mental Health: The Importance of Gender Sensitive Mental Health Services

Published: Thursday, December 15, 2016

Gender inequalities have a powerful impact on mental health and wellbeing. Ireland currently has a ‘gender blind’ mental health strategy and services. Having a gender perspective will positively affect how support is provided to women and men, and how health promotion materials or treatment programmes address their particular mental health concerns.

In November NWCI held a very successful roundtable on gender and mental health and meeting the gender specific needs of women and men in mental health policy, planning and service delivery. This event also took place in the context of Ireland’s review of the national mental health policy framework, A Vision for Change, and in the lead up to the 7th World Congress on Women’s Mental Health which will be held in Dublin in March 2017.

The Roundtable was chaired by Shari McDaid, Director of Mental Health Reform and there was a keynote address by Dr. Karen Newbigging, University of Birmingham. From this Roundtable it is planned to make recommendations to the HSE and the Department of Health in relation to a more gendered approach to mental health services as part of the review of the Vision for Change.

See Dr. Karen Newbigging's presentation 

For more information please contact Jacqueline Healy jacquelineh@nwci.ie  or Delphine O'Keeffe delphineok@nwci.ie