Health Security, Complexity, and Mental Health in Healthcare Practice: A Cultural–Analytical Study Across Nursing, Pharmacy, Laboratory, and Dental Disciplines

Abstract

Background: Health security has increasingly been recognized as a multidimensional construct that extends beyond technical safety measures to encompass institutional culture, professional values, and workforce well-being. In complex healthcare systems, the mental health of healthcare professionals plays a critical role in shaping safety practices, interprofessional collaboration, and system resilience. Despite growing attention to workforce well-being, mental health is often treated as a secondary outcome rather than a foundational element of health security culture.

Objective: This study aims to conceptually examine health security as a cultural framework supporting mental health within complex healthcare systems, with a specific focus on interprofessional practice across nursing, pharmacy, laboratory, and dental disciplines.

Methods: A qualitative conceptual cultural–analytical approach was adopted. The analysis draws on secondary sources, including peer-reviewed literature, international health security and mental health frameworks, and established theoretical models related to human security, organizational culture, system complexity, and interprofessional practice. An axiological lens was employed to explore how values, norms, and institutional culture shape the relationship between health security and mental well-being among healthcare professionals.

Results: The analysis indicates that mental health functions as a foundational condition for effective health security rather than a peripheral concern. Health security cultures that prioritize psychological safety, professional support, and interprofessional trust are more likely to sustain safety practices, ethical decision-making, and workforce engagement. Conversely, cultures characterized by excessive control, fragmented responsibility, and neglect of mental well-being may undermine both security objectives and professional performance, particularly in highly complex healthcare environments.

Conclusion: Conceptualizing health security as a cultural framework that supports mental health offers a more holistic and sustainable understanding of safety in healthcare systems. By positioning mental well-being as a core pillar of health security culture, this study contributes a value-based perspective that is relevant across healthcare disciplines and supports the development of human-centered, resilient, and ethically grounded healthcare systems.