A Qualitative Exploration of Mental Health Recovery in Singapore
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USyd Access
Type
ThesisThesis type
Doctor of PhilosophyAuthor/s
Kuek, HanAbstract
Introduction: Since the 1990s, the mental healthcare field has gradually begun to embrace conceptualizations of personal mental health recovery, emphasizing the heterogeneous nature of experiences in how people develop and overcome the difficulties associated with mental ill health. ...
See moreIntroduction: Since the 1990s, the mental healthcare field has gradually begun to embrace conceptualizations of personal mental health recovery, emphasizing the heterogeneous nature of experiences in how people develop and overcome the difficulties associated with mental ill health. Despite three decades of research, most recovery-oriented studies have been conducted predominantly in Western cultures, resulting in fewer culturally informed studies on the concept. Hence, this PhD contributes to a growing body of Asian-centric research by exploring the experiences of different stakeholders in Singapore within the mental health care ecosystem. Method: This project utilized a qualitative research approach and relied on recorded online interviews as the main form of data. Forty-five participants were gathered from three populations - people with experience of mental ill health, mental health clinicians, and informal caregivers. The data collected were transcribed verbatim before the constructivist grounded theory and thematic analysis approaches were used in the exploration. Finding: While participants shared many ideas regarding mental health recovery in Singapore, they can be broadly captured by five distinctive dimensions of Singaporean mental health recovery, which have been developed through synthesising the various findings. These include culture, cohesion, community, communication, and comprehension of mental health issues, which are central to the recovery process of people with mental ill-health in Singapore. Conclusions: The findings from this study expand upon present understandings of Singaporeans’ lived experiences of mental health challenges from multiple stakeholder perspectives. Furthermore, they can be used to critically evaluate existing mental healthcare frameworks to ensure they are relevant and tailored for the needs of people experiencing mental ill-health so that mental health personal recovery approaches in Singapore can flourish.
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See moreIntroduction: Since the 1990s, the mental healthcare field has gradually begun to embrace conceptualizations of personal mental health recovery, emphasizing the heterogeneous nature of experiences in how people develop and overcome the difficulties associated with mental ill health. Despite three decades of research, most recovery-oriented studies have been conducted predominantly in Western cultures, resulting in fewer culturally informed studies on the concept. Hence, this PhD contributes to a growing body of Asian-centric research by exploring the experiences of different stakeholders in Singapore within the mental health care ecosystem. Method: This project utilized a qualitative research approach and relied on recorded online interviews as the main form of data. Forty-five participants were gathered from three populations - people with experience of mental ill health, mental health clinicians, and informal caregivers. The data collected were transcribed verbatim before the constructivist grounded theory and thematic analysis approaches were used in the exploration. Finding: While participants shared many ideas regarding mental health recovery in Singapore, they can be broadly captured by five distinctive dimensions of Singaporean mental health recovery, which have been developed through synthesising the various findings. These include culture, cohesion, community, communication, and comprehension of mental health issues, which are central to the recovery process of people with mental ill-health in Singapore. Conclusions: The findings from this study expand upon present understandings of Singaporeans’ lived experiences of mental health challenges from multiple stakeholder perspectives. Furthermore, they can be used to critically evaluate existing mental healthcare frameworks to ensure they are relevant and tailored for the needs of people experiencing mental ill-health so that mental health personal recovery approaches in Singapore can flourish.
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Date
2023Rights statement
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney Susan Wakil School of Nursing and MidwiferyAwarding institution
The University of SydneyShare