Principal ​Investigator: Prof Chong Siow Ann, Senior Consultant, Research Division and Department of Psychosis, Institute of Mental Health

Study Period: March 2018-March 2020

The Mind Matters 2014 study identified that significant stigma exists towards those with mental illness in the Singapore population. As stigma is a social construct, culture, societal norms and practices are likely to have a role in stigma. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of stigma, how or why it arises in Singapore, and identify strategies to reduce it, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were employed to attain various stakeholders' perspectives. There were 5 stakeholder groups involved; people with mental illness, caregivers of people with mental illness, the general public, professional healthcare providers, and policymakers.

Publications arising from the study:

1.     Tan, G. T. H., Shahwan, S., Goh, C. M. J., Ong, W. J., Wei, K. C., Verma, S. K., ... & Subramaniam, M. (2020). Mental illness stigma's reasons and determinants (MISReaD) among Singapore's lay public–a qualitative inquiry. BMC psychiatry, 20(1), 1-13.

2.     Ong, W. J., Shahwan, S., Goh, C. M. J., Tan, G. T. H., Chong, S. A., & Subramaniam, M. (2020). Daily Encounters of Mental Illness Stigma and Individual Strategies to Reduce Stigma–Perspectives of People With Mental Illness. Frontiers in Psychology, 2941.

3.     Subramaniam, M., Shahwan, S., Goh, C. M. J., Tan, G. T. H., Ong, W. J., & Chong, S. A. (2021). A Qualitative Exploration of the Views of Policymakers and Policy Advisors on the Impact of Mental Health Stigma on the Development and Implementation of Mental Health Policy in Singapore. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 1-11.

4.     Shahwan, S., Goh, C. M. J., Tan, G. T. H., Ong, W. J., Chong, S. A., & Subramaniam, M. (2022). Strategies to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma: Perspectives of People with Lived Experience and Caregivers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1632.

Principal Investigator: Prof Chong Siow Ann, Senior Consultant, Research Division and Department of Psychosis, Institute of Mental Health

Study Period: March 2018-March 2020

Findings from the Singapore Mental Health Study show that mental illness tend to develop before the age of 30 years and a large majority do not seek professional help due to stigma. As younger individuals are known to be more open towards interventions that target stigma, an educational intervention that focused on depression which included a sharing session by a person with lived experience was designed for university students. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention immediately after the intervention and at 3-month follow-up in terms of whether the intervention improved knowledge of depression, attitudes towards mental illness, willingness to interact with people with mental illness, and bystander attitudes towards depression (e.g. likelihood of providing support when noticing someone exhibiting depressive symptoms).

Publications arising from the study:

1.     Subramaniam, M., Shahwan, S., Abdin, E., Goh, C. M. J., Ong, W. J., Tan, G. T. H., ... & Chong, S. A. (2020). Advancing research to eliminate mental illness stigma: the design and evaluation of a single-arm intervention Among University students in Singapore. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1151.

2.     Tan, G. T. H., Shahwan, S., Goh, C. M. J., Ong, W. J., Samari, E., Abdin, E., ... & Subramaniam, M. (2020). Causal beliefs of mental illness and its impact on help-seeking attitudes: a cross-sectional study among university students in Singapore. BMJ open, 10(7), e035818.

3.     Shahwan, S., Lau, J. H., Goh, C. M. J., Ong, W. J., Tan, G. T. H., Kwok, K. W., ... & Subramaniam, M. (2020). The potential impact of an anti-stigma intervention on mental health help-seeking attitudes among university students. BMC psychiatry, 20(1), 1-14.

4.     Goh, C. M. J., Shahwan, S., Lau, J. H., Ong, W. J., Tan, G. T. H., Samari, E., ... & Chong, S. A. (2021). Advancing research to eliminate mental illness stigma: an interventional study to improve community attitudes towards depression among University students in Singapore. BMC psychiatry, 21(1), 1-12.

5.     Ong, W. J., Lau, J. H., Abdin, E., Shahwan, S., Goh, J. C. M., Tan, G. T. H., ... & Chong, S. A. (2021). Preliminary development of a bystander intervention scale for depression and the examination of socio-demographic correlates amongst Singapore university students. BMC psychology, 9(1), 1-9.

Tan, G. T. H., Shahwan, S., Abdin, E., Lau, J. H., Goh, C. M. J., Ong, W. J., ... & Subramaniam, M. (2021). Recognition of Depression and Help-Seeking Preference Among University Students in Singapore: An Evaluation of the Impact of Advancing Research to Eliminate Mental Illness Stigma an Education and Contact Intervention. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12.

The Research Division at IMH has embarked on a population based study entitled “Mind Matters: A study of Mental Health Literacy 2021". This study follows from the first Mind Matters study conducted in 2014 which examined recognition of and stigmazation towards 5 conditions (i.e. alcohol abuse, depression, dementia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia). It is hypothesized that improvements in mental health literacy will be observed from the Mind Matters 2014 study due to known increases in prevalence of mental illnesses in the Singapore population, changing patterns in help-seeking behaviours as well as the introduction of mental illness awareness and anti-stigma campaigns and initiatives launched locally. Two new conditions, suicidality (with depression) and gambling disorder will also be examined in the current study following discussions with key stakeholders including clinicians, policy-makers, funders and researchers. This study will enable policymakers and service providers to evaluate the impact of the various mental health awareness initiatives that have been implemented as well as further improve and strategise on these initiatives and identify emerging trends. The findings will better inform the design and implementation of specific mental health strategies and programmes for early detection, treatment and recovery of people with mental illness.

Study Period: Apr 2020-March 2023

Principal Investigator: Prof Chong Siow Ann, Senior Consultant, Research Division and Department of Psychosis, Institute of Mental Health

Study Period: March 2018-March 2020 ​

Dementia, a syndrome caused by diseases of the brain, is characterised by a progressive decline in memory, language, problem-solving as well as deterioration in other cognitive domains that affect a person's ability to perform everyday activities. Dementia is a late-life disease but may also affect those under age 65 years (known as young-onset dementia). Upon being diagnosed with dementia, individuals may face premature termination of their jobs, disruption to their usual routine, and an abrupt decline in their independence and social life.​

The lack of meaningful daytime activities with the loss of social and functional roles and responsibilities has been found to be one of the most unmet needs experienced by people with young-onset and early stage dementia (YES clients). As such, Apex Harmony Lodge (AHL), a purpose-built service for persons with dementia developed the Therapy Through Work programme for YES clients (TTW YES). Through a collaboration with AHL, this project aimed of to identify barriers and facilitators influencing the implementation of TTW YES under real-world conditions by employing semi-structured interviews with staff and caregivers, as well as observations of YES clients at the worksites. The research also aimed to evaluate whether the programme made a significant difference in cognition, functional status, mood, quality of life, and caregiver burden which are key outcomes articulated by AHL.

The results the study was published on Lianhe Zao Bao on 11 January 2022, entitled 'Therapeutic benefits of work for persons with young onset and early stage dementia'.

​Principal Investig​ator: Prof Chong Siow Ann, Senior Consultant, Research Division and Department of Psychosis, Institute of Mental Health

Study Period: March 2019-March 2022

The Do You M.I.N.D (DYM) programme was designed by TOUCH Community Services to educate secondary school students on 4 common mental health issues during adolescence (depression, anxiety, eating disorders and self-harm), how to take care of their mental health, and shift their perceptions of people with mental health issues in a positive way using experiential learning activities and virtual reality (VR).

Through collaboration with TOUCH, this study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators influencing the implementation of the DYM by conducting semi-structured interviews with staff, volunteers, and school liaison officers, as well as observations of the DYM facilitation. It also aimed to evaluate whether the programme enhanced awareness of mental health issues, improved attitudes towards people with mental health issues, increased willingness to have social contact with individuals with mental health issues and improved attitudes towards seeking help using anonymised pre-post programme measures collected by TOUCH.

Programme Evaluation

Tote Board convened a Shared-gifting Circle (SGC) comprising 7 local agencies focusing on developing Community Based Mental Health Services for Children and Youth. The IMH Research Division is a partner in this initiative with the key roles of offering their expertise in developing project-level outcomes of 5 selected SGC projects and improving the evaluation process of these projects.