FLOODS AND MENTAL HEALTH IN PAKISTAN: A BIBLIOMETRIC AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS (2010–2025)

Abstract

This paper looks into the effects of receding flood disasters in Pakistan, a country that has suffered from climate caused floods recurring more frequently and increasingly painfully. The physical and economic costs brought by floods are well recognized; however, the psychological aftermath is under documented, including post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and chronic stress. As a result to address this, our study presents a thorough bibliometric and thematic analysis of 150 peer reviewed articles printed among 2010 and 2025. A targeted search strategy was used to systematically extract data from the major databases, and publication trends, author collaborations and keyword networks were mapped by using Biblioshiny, VOSviewer and NVivo. An analysis of major floods shows that they are followed by a large increase in academic output in Pakistan, indicating how reactive disaster research is in Pakistan. Some of the key themes explored are the immediate psychological responses to floods, gendered vulnerabilities, the interaction between flood induced economic disruption and mental health as well as the engagement between social capital and community resilience. We find that shortterm mental health outcomes have been documented but long term evaluation of integrated mental health interventions within the disaster response framework is needed. This study helps policymakers and practitioners understand the ways in which current research has forged progress in this domain, while also pointing out the existing gaps that remain. It calls for a multidisciplinary approach for an integration of mental health services into other disaster management, climate adaptation and resulting strategies to ultimately enhance the resilience of the floodhit communities of Pakistan.