This paper aims to analyze the incorporation of multilateral guidance regarding mental health in national health plans to determine the current global policy standard and identify areas of improvement globally. A particular focus is on chronic and complex mental health conditions. We analyzed national health policies in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
The analysis encompassed the grouping of recommendations in overarching categories, the analysis and scoring of countries according to the level of integration of these recommendations, and the discussion of gaps and opportunities regarding mental health policies according to findings.
The paper provides an overview of (1) the objective and methodology used to develop this document, (2) the importance of robust and comprehensive mental health strategies/plans, (3) the multilateral policies and recommendations identified and prioritized, (4) the national policies identified and analyzed, and (5) findings per overarching category, sub-categories, and scorecards. The final section provides a synthesized overview of the key findings across all countries, highlighting overarching trends, common themes, and significant differences.