POLICY ENGAGEMENT, CALL TO ACTION
The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that there are 6.5 million adults age 65 and older who are living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States—and this number is expected to rise, with projections estimating that the number of adults living with this disease could grow to 13.8 million by 2060. Yet, the burden of Alzheimer’s disease—including its health, economic, and quality-of-life impacts—is not evenly distributed. Approximately two-thirds of Americans living with the disease are women, and the majority of Alzheimer’s disease caregivers are women, many of whom are uncompensated.
As part of the Society for Women’s Health Research’s (SWHR) commitment to raising awareness about the disproportionate impact of Alzheimer’s disease on women, both as patients and caregivers, and driving policy change to improve women’s health and quality of life outcomes, SWHR published the SWHR Policy Agenda: Breaking Down the Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease for Women. This call to action is intended to serve as a roadmap outlining key areas of policy needed across research, clinical care, education and awareness, coverage and access, and more in order to improve Alzheimer’s and related dementias outcomes.
Healthy aging starts with knowledge, and SWHR and HealthyWomen are proud to help women protect their brain health at every stage of life.
SWHR presented a session titled “Advancing Sex Differences Science in a Changing Advocacy Environment,” at the OSSD Annual Meeting in Kona, Hawaii.
For the third year in a row, SWHR was pleased to present three SWHR Emerging Scholars in Women’s Health Research Awards at the OSSD 2026 Annual Meeting this May.
This post originally appeared on the News page of Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease (LEAD Coalition). SWHR thanks the LEAD […]
This material was created by the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) and is intended to serve as a public educational and informative resource. This material may be cited or shared on external channels, websites, and blogs, with attribution given to SWHR, or printed and displayed in its original formatted version. SWHR encourages the sharing and reposting of its content in order to spread awareness around women’s health issues. For specific questions about sharing SWHR content, please reach out to communications@swhr.org.
This policy agenda is part of SWHR’s Alzheimer’s Disease Program, which is supported by an educational grant from Eli Lilly and Eisai.