Abstract:The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how mental health especially among frontline and non-medical support workers has often been overlooked in pandemic preparedness and response policies. While infection control strategies were widely developed across various settings, including large-scale international events, limited attention was paid to the psychological burden faced by those responsible for implementing these measures. This study investigates how mental health is addressed in global and event-based pandemic policies, focusing on normative gaps and implementation challenges. Using qualitative content analysis, this research reviews a selected set of key documents, including WHO COVID-19 strategies, policy texts for international mass gatherings, and the newly adopted WHO Pandemic Agreement (2025). The documents are coded and compared to evaluate the presence, framing, and clarity of provisions related to mental health and psychosocial support. Initial findings indicate that earlier policies largely lacked meaningful attention to mental health, while the 2025 Agreement introduces a shift by formally including mental health support as essential to achieving health equity in pandemic preparedness and response. This change in policy language suggests growing recognition of mental health within pandemic governance. However, it also highlights the need for further research on how these commitments are implemented in practice. A future stage of this study will include exploratory survey design aimed at understanding the perceived availability of psychosocial support among non-medical personnel involved in high-pressure health response settings. By analyzing how mental health has been excluded, acknowledged, or prioritized in official documents, this research contributes to more inclusive, equity-oriented approaches to health emergency planning. As part of an ongoing doctoral project, this study remains open to feedback and discussion to refine its conceptual and methodological focus.
Keywords: Mental Health, Mental Health, Pandemic Governance, Policy Analysis, Health Equity, COVID-19
