Imran Pambudi, the Director of Mental Health at the Health Ministry, announced that just 38 percent of community health centers (Puskesmas) in Indonesia offer mental health services. In response, the Ministry is ramping up training programs for healthcare workers to equip them to perform mental health screenings.
To date, 6,811 out of 10,416 community health centers, or 65 percent, have trained healthcare workers in mental health services. This training is conducted in stages, commencing with training for mental health program holders in Provincial Health Offices.
“And then Provincial Health Offices will train mental health program holders in district health offices who will subsequently train healthcare workers at community health centers,” Imran said in a written statement.
In Indonesia, mental health is often characterized as an iceberg phenomenon due to the uneven distribution of mental health services, resulting in the under-detection of many mental health disorders.
This is evidenced by the 2018 Basic Health Research, which indicates that of the 706,689 individuals aged 15 and above suffering from depression, only 9 percent have access to mental health treatment.
Imran mentioned that the provided training does not guarantee the immediate provision of comprehensive services by community health centers, including diagnosis and medication management. “Management also needs to be supported by the availability of psychotropic drugs”, he emphasized.
In reality, 4,943 or 47.4 percent lack psychotropic medications. “When considering both trained healthcare workers and the availability of psychotropic medications, only about 38 percent of community health centers are equipped to provide mental health services”, he continued.
The 38 percent figure corresponds to 3,964 community health centers. According to Imran, Yogyakarta and Bangka Belitung Islands provinces currently exhibit the highest percentage of equipped community health centers.
Before this, Imran stated that this training was necessary due to the lingering lack of confidence among many healthcare workers in addressing mental health issues. Therefore, they often prefer to refer patients to mental hospitals, although not all individuals exhibiting signs of mental health problems require hospitalization.
“We are now intensifying training at community health centers to empower more of them to handle mental health issues,” he said during the Health Ministry's event for World Mental Health Day 2024 in Kuningan, Jakarta.