BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACCESS AND UTILIZATION AMONG MADRASAH STUDENTS IN SINGAPORE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Abstract

This study explored the barriers and facilitators of mental health services (MHS) access and utilization among madrasah students in Singapore. Using a qualitative approach, six ex-madrasah NUS undergraduates were recruited to participate in a semi-structured interview using an interview guide. As a result, 5 themes and 12 sub-themes emerged from a thematic analysis of the six interviews. The workload of and societal pressure on madrasah students were cited as sources of mental health struggles among madrasah students. Meanwhile, the barriers to MHS access include the lack or absence of professional or trained MHS in madrasahs, in addition to other barriers. On the other hand, students’ understanding of mental illness and MHS, stigma associated with using MHS, teachers’ understanding of and response to mental illness, attribution of mental illness to religious reasons as well as the madrasah environment were mentioned as barriers to MHS utilization among madrasah students. The facilitators of MHS access and utilization include students and teachers, while the madrasah as a community and building a non-judgmental support system were offered as solutions to the mental health issues in madrasahs. Recommendations made include mirroring MHS in mainstream schools as well as tapping on the strengths available in Islam as well as the strong networks available in madrasahs to overcome the various barriers to MHS access and utilization.