Debated in Parliament on 9 Jan 2023.
Ms Ng Ling Ling asked the Minister for Health (a) what are the key areas of concerns and aspirations among our youths on our national mental health policies; and (b) whether there is a systematic monitoring of the improvement in mental health of our youths as these mental health policies are implemented.
The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the National Youth Council (NYC) regularly survey and poll our youths to understand how they feel and what challenges they face.
These feedback channels indicate that youths want greater access to mental health information and services at both schools and workplaces. Specifically, youths want clearer information on the support provided, the costs of mental health services and how the services would be delivered. They also prefer services tailored to, or conducted by their immediate social groups, such as those catering to their occupations or run by peers with similar experiences.
In addition, research studies are also conducted by public healthcare institutions and institutes of higher learning to study the prevalence of mental health conditions among youth.
PAPERCUTS