Assistant Professor Heather Randell coauthored the paper, "Food insecurity and women's mental health in the Chitwan Valley of Nepal," published in the journal SSM - Mental Health. 

Food insecurity is a major threat to global public health and sustainable development. The occurrence and severity of food insecurity can depend greatly on power and social hierarchies, with women and girls often being less food secure than men and boys even within the same household. Moreover, social roles, such as the socialization of a mother to feed her children, impact food insecurity and its consequences. 

This study aims to uncover the relationships between food insecurity and mental health for women in the Chitwan Valley of Nepal. It finds that women have a higher prevalence of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic attacks than men, especially if they are experiencing food insecurity.