AMWA’s Work on Opioid Addiction in Women
AMWA has long recognized opioid addiction as a critical women’s health issue. Through its former Opioid Addiction in Women Task Force, AMWA advanced national awareness about the unique ways opioid use, pain, treatment barriers, and addiction patterns affect women.
The Task Force focused on educating clinicians and the public about sex and gender differences in pain and opioid response, contributing to evidence-based prescribing and pain-management guidelines, supporting the work of the National Academy of Medicine on this issue, informing policymakers about the impact of opioid addiction on women, and identifying research gaps related to women’s specific needs.
Educational Efforts Included:
- Awareness of non-opioid pain-management strategies and function-focused care
- Addressing sex differences in pain experience and addiction risk
- Supporting reproductive-age and pregnant women, including prevention of neonatal abstinence syndrome
- Expanding training for clinicians caring for women receiving medication-assisted treatment
- Providing public education on naloxone use and non-pharmacologic pain options
- Educational resources on sex and gender differences in pain and opioid use, post-operative pain management, and administration of Naloxone
- An analysis of state opioid plans for sex and gender content
Equity & Advocacy:
AMWA also spotlighted racial inequities in opioid prescribing, treatment access, and overdose death trends—particularly affecting Black women—and contributed comments on federal guidelines as part of broader national efforts to counter the opioid epidemic.
AMWA remains committed to advancing gender-responsive, equitable approaches to pain management, addiction prevention, and care for women nationwide.
