Free Mental Health Screening Program, IPB University Lecturer: Challenges Remain

The Indonesian government has launched a free mental health screening program. According to the Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin, this program can be accessed by all Indonesian people for free.

Psychiatrist and lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, IPB University, Dr Riati Sri Hartini, MSc, SpKJ supports this program. According to her, this program is very helpful for people with limited access, especially on the financial side.

“I am happy with this program, because mental health is very important. Even though someone looks physically healthy, if it turns out that they have mental disorders, this will affect their quality of life,” said Dr Ria.

Moreover, she revealed, so far public awareness of mental health has not been as open as other health conditions. Many people prioritize other examinations. With the free mental health checks, she hopes that people will be more motivated to get screened.

On the other hand, Dr Ria continued, this program also has its own challenges. One of them is the public stigma that still labels someone who comes to a psychiatrist as having severe mental disorders.

“The challenge is still related to stigma. Even though this program is free, it still requires awareness from the person concerned to just do the screening,” she said.

“If the labeling of society is still negative, it will be a challenge in itself to embrace people to do the examination,” added the Mental Health Science lecturer.

The next challenge, continued Dr Ria, is the limited human resources (HR). She said that currently there are limited human resources for psychiatrists in Indonesia, especially in remote areas, so access to psychiatric services is not easy. 

“Moreover, in areas with difficult geographical conditions, limited access is a major obstacle in obtaining mental health services,” she said.

She suggested that the program needs to involve organizations related to mental health. “Hopefully, mental health professionals are involved, both psychiatrists and psychologists,” she said.

In fact, she said, it could also involve sociologists in order to see humans holistically from the biological, psychological, social, cultural sides, including the spiritual side which also needs to be touched.

He also hopes that this program will not only stop at screening, but continue to the management stage which includes pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches, such as psychotherapy, and even rehabilitation. (Lp) (IAAS/RUM)