Page 20 - NIH Bulletin Vol 19, January-June 2022, Entering the Endemic Phase: Nurturing Ideas in Healthcare

Bulletin National Institutes of Health, Malaysia Vol 19 • January - June 2022

IMPLEMENTING MENTAL

HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL

SUPPORT SERVICES (MHPSS)

IN THE EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) is
an institutional priority for the United Nations (UN) and
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF), and it is crucial to achieving the 2030 Sustainable
Development Goals. The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018 - 2021
identifies MHPSS as a priority area, building upon existing
programming through child protection, education and
health.

A research collaboration was initiated to identify how mental
health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) can be
implemented among children and adolescents younger than
18 years in the East Asia and Pacific region. Led by Burnet
Institute Melbourne Australia and funded by UNICEF, the
intention for this global collaboration is to further assist in the
creation and implementation of a service package on how the
current MHPSS can be further improved and strengthened.

Four countries are involved in this collaboration: Malaysia,
Thailand, Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

The MHPSS study involved multiple collaborators, including:

1. Institute for Clinical Research (ICR), which consists of ICR
Headquarters and five Clinical Research Centre Networks
from Klang Valley, Sabah & Sarawak.
2. Institute for Health Behavioural Research (IHBR)
3. Institute for Health Management (IHM)
4. Clinical psychiatrists from 4 Major Hospitals in Malaysia
5. An academician from HELP University.

Figure 1: Chronology for the undertaking of the MHPSS research project

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