Mohd Arifin, Siti Roshaidai (2023) Review And Mapping Of Mental Health And Psychosocial Support Services In Malaysia. In: Ilmu Hasanah, Shah Alam, Malaysia. (Unpublished)
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Abstract
The National Health Morbidity Survey (2017) reported that 1 in 5 adolescents in Malaysia were suffering from depression. As such, mental health screening at school, periodically counsellor monitoring, promoting mental health awareness program and establishment of peer support group are highly recommended. However, there is limited “ground work” that could map out the accessibility and suitability of the existing programme and service related to mental health disorders among adolescents. Our research project aimed to understand of the mental health context and availability of services aiming to promote and support mental health of students, adolescents, and families in the country. To do so, we have conducted a four phases research project, namely desk review, scoping review, online snapshot survey, and in-depth interviews. Our recent findings indicated that from 960 students (aged 10-19) surveyed, 45.7% of them had symptoms of anxiety, 34.0% had symptoms of depression, and 31.4% (n = 301) had symptoms of stress. However, the majority of them are insufficiently diagnosed and treated, contributing to negative outcomes such as poor school attendance, low academic performance and behavioral problems. Our qualitative interviews with stakeholders reflected that while school counsellors are recognised as an educational leader with training and expertise to address the psychological wellbeing of adolescents, their competency in managing mental health was limited due to the lack of continuous training. Furthermore, there was a lack of structured mental health promotion programme conducted within the school compound, leaving the awareness of mental health remain stagnant and primarily depend on the informal resources (such as social media). Additionally, current referral of the children/adolescents with mental disorders from school to the healthcare facilities was limited by various factors such as family’s understanding of the treatment as the priority, a lack of transportation, or lack of flexibility with their jobs, leaving them unable to make appointments for the children. These situations reflected that there were limitations in the management of children/adolescents’ mental health across community, school and healthcare settings. Therefore, we recommend that a cross-sectoral management of children/adolescents’ mental health (involving school counsellors, parents and mental health/psychology experts) is urgently required. School counsellors should be trained by mental health and psychology experts, children/adolescents should be educated on mental health, and parents’ involvement in the management is necessary.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Invited Papers) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA790 Mental Health. Mental Illness Prevention R Medicine > RT Nursing |
| Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button): | Kulliyyah of Nursing > Department of Special Care Nursing |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Siti Roshaidai Mohd Arifin |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Jul 2023 12:47 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Jul 2023 15:02 |
| URI: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/105291 |
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