KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 – The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed mental health to the forefront, with Malaysia reporting at least three sudden death cases involving health care workers in the last two years.
The Selangor state health department recently confirmed the deaths of two health care workers last June 4 and June 6, who had worked at health care facilities in Klang (one was a 32-year-old doctor, four months’ pregnant, who had worked at a public health clinic).
The two deaths – believed to be from suspected suicide – occurred about a year after the April 2022 death of a Penang GH houseman that triggered the formation of the Healthcare Work Culture Improvement Task Force (HWCITF). The HWCITF issued a report in August 2022.
CodeBlue has launched a survey that aims to briefly gauge the prevalence of mental health issues and the inclination to seek mental health treatment among government health care professionals or workers in Malaysia.
Only those who are currently working in the public health care sector in Malaysia – Ministry of Health, Ministry of Higher Education, and Ministry of Defence facilities – are invited to participate in the survey. All responses submitted are anonymised.
Among the questions for health care workers in CodeBlue’s online poll are what mental health issues or symptoms you’re currently experiencing, whether you have sought help, and if you’ve engaged in self-harm or suicidal ideation in the last three months.
Questions are in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.
To access the survey, contact CodeBlue at [email protected]. The deadline to answer the survey is July 9, 2023.
