Page 25 - NIH Bulletin Vol 19, January-June 2022, Entering the Endemic Phase: Nurturing Ideas in Healthcare

#ENTERING THE ENDEMIC PHASE

SANUBARI-HO

AN INTERVENTION STUDY TO DETERMINE THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF SANUBARI OPTIMAL HEALTH

PROGRAMME IN IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING AMONG MALAYSIAN HOUSE OFFICERS

Mohamad Aznuddin Abd Razak

Mental health problems among house officers
(HOs) in Malaysia are a great concern. This
is because these issues not only negatively
impact their well-being but can also decrease
professional efficiency, lowering quality of
care and patient outcomes. Some known
risk factors contributing to these problems
were a toxic working environment, rampant
abuse and bullying, excessive workload,
and a culture of blaming and shaming.
Additionally, colleagues’ and senior officers’
lack of support and empathy further worsens
the condition. Training session of Sanubari Facilitators

One of the solutions recommended by previous studies The study utilized a health intervention package adapted
was implementing self-management interventions. It from the Optimal Health Programme in Australia. The
was reported such programmes improved self-efficacy, Optimal Health Programme was initially developed by St
perceived stress, and mental distress among medical officers. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne in 2001. The programme was
Based on this, a collaborative study was conducted in 2021 translated into Malay and underwent cultural adaptation
between the Institute for Public Health, Malaysia Sanubari in 2019 to allow its integration as part of psychosocial care
Optimum Health Programme National Committee, and the in Malaysia. The programme was aptly named Sanubari
Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry at selected Optimum Health Programme (Sanubari OHP).
hospitals. This study was called the Sanubari-HO Study and
focused on the mental health and well-being of the HOs. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Sanubari
OHP in reducing the level of depression and anxiety, as well
as improving well-being, self-efficacy and adaptive coping
mechanisms among HOs. It applied a quasi-experimental
design involving ten hospitals, equally divided
into control and intervention groups. Overall, 204
HOs participated in the study. The intervention
programme was conducted through five
interactive group therapy sessions by a trained
psychiatrist, medical officers and clinical
psychologists through an online platform.

Preliminary results of the study found a significant
reduction in depressive and anxiety symptoms
among HOs from baseline up to one-month
post-intervention. It also generated a significant
increment in self-efficacy and adaptive coping
The first Session of Sanubari Intervention in Hospital Serdang via Virtual Platform mechanisms. While long-term effects need to be
further explored, our preliminary findings reveal
that the programme showed high potential and value in
enhancing the mental well-being of HOs in Malaysia.

23