TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
West Java to provide mental health services in all 'puskesmas' amid high depression rate
According to the 2023 Indonesia Health Survey (SKI) by the Health Ministry, West Java has the highest depression rate in the country at 3.3 percent, more than double the national average of 1.4 percent.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Piece of mind: Inner World of the Mind by Indonesian photographer Fiona Gozali visualizes a mental condition, portraying how she finds solace through the camera as a means of expressing her struggle with health. Courtesy of Fiona Gozali (Fiona Gozali/-)
T
he West Java administration is seeking to assign clinical psychologists to all puskesmas (community health centers) across the province, in response to mounting concerns over the region’s depression rate which is the highest in the country.
West Java Deputy Governor Erwan Setiawan said the policy is a crucial step toward improving the prevention, early detection, intervention and rehabilitation of mental health issues across the province.
"Integrating clinical psychologists into primary healthcare centers could also ease the burden on referral hospitals and mental health facilities," he said over the weekend.
Erwan said the province aims to deploy clinical psychologists to 300 to 500 puskesmas by next year, with plans to gradually expand coverage to all 1,000 centers across West Java in the coming years.
According to the 2023 Indonesia Health Survey (SKI) by the Health Ministry, West Java has the highest depression rate in the country at 3.3 percent, more than double the national average of 1.4 percent.
It means that over 1.6 million of West Java’s 51.1 million residents are affected by depression.
“This survey should serve as a serious wake-up call for everyone. We must accelerate mental health services in the community and work to transform West Java from the province with the highest depression rate to the happiest province,” West Java secretary Herman Suryatman said on Friday.
