Perceptions of community mental health services among culturally diverse adult Singaporeans with major depressive disorder: A descriptive qualitative study

Abstract

Persons with major depressive disorder (PMDDs) often experience pernicious ramifications on the biopsychosocial aspects of their health. While community mental health services (CMHSs) in Singapore are increasingly leveraged to meet the escalating demand for mental healthcare, shortcomings such as a substantial treatment gap and the lack of holistic, culturally sensitive care have been highlighted. Of note, the perspectives of the service users, which have hardly been studied in the literature, are crucial to our understanding of their needs to continuously improve CMHSs. Accordingly, this qualitative descriptive study explored the perceptions and experiences of community‐dwelling adults with major depressive disorder in their use of CMHSs in Singapore. Seventeen adults with major depressive disorder purposefully sampled from a CMHS provider were interviewed through a semi‐structured guide between October and November 2021. Data analysis via Braun and Clarke's six‐step thematic framework yielded five themes corresponding to three different phases: pre‐CMHS encounter ((i) procrastination to seek help and (ii) factors influencing CMHS utilization); intra‐CMHS encounter ((iii) incongruous perceptions of the impacts on biopsychosocial health and (iv) differing perceptions and experiences of culturally sensitive care); and post‐CMHS encounter ((v) enhancing CMHSs for PMDDs based on end‐users' experiences). Our findings underscore the need to improve the delivery of personalized mental healthcare services, use of settings‐ and culturally‐specific anti‐stigma strategies, and nationwide mental health literacy in symptom recognition and awareness of help‐seeking resources.