The Development of Adolescent Mental Health Services in Malaysia: A Review

Abstract

Despite a rise in the prevalence of mental health concerns among adolescents worldwide, care access and engagement remain low, ranging from 20% to 45%. For the long-term improvement of adolescent well-being, it is crucial to address this issue and effectively engage adolescents in mental health services. Providing mental health services in place of acute health care facilities (such as inpatient psychiatric care, residential treatment centers, or specialized mental health clinics) is one of the effective strategies for addressing these issues. This study investigated the implementation and development of mental health services for adolescents in Malaysia, employing a qualitative design for the content analysis. Research data was collected through search engines such as Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Scopus, and others. Keywords such as "mental health issues in Malaysia, and "adolescent mental health programs" represented and reflected the core premise of this research. This study discovered three primary themes: the development of mental health services, the method of mental health intervention, and mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic. It was determined that there were research gaps concerning mental health programs in Malaysia. Thus, studies to bridge the gap may periodically examine mental health issues. It may dramatically alleviate mental health issues and lower the number of young people in the country with emotional disorders.