Relief for Psychiatric Patients in Malaysia: Results from expert interviews

Abstract

This study aims to 1) identify and describe agencies’ role in helping psychiatric patients and 2) evaluate whether there is a synergy in building a concrete framework for the patients. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight mental health experts. The data were transcribed, and thematic analysis was performed using NVivo software. Findings revealed that empowering the patients was one of the strategies to assist them. Nevertheless, the multisectoral collaboration did not translate well within the aid networks despite the efforts by the government agencies to bridge their services to the patients. Keywords: Psychiatric Care, Aid Agencies, Integration Strategy, Collaboration Networks eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., U.K. This is an open-access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i20.3447