Background Although cultural factors play a crucial role in experience of stigma, there is scant review on the impact and importance of culture on stigma of mental illness across Pacific Rim Region. This study aims to investigate: 1) the cultural factors related to stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness in Pacific Rim region, and 2) culture-specific measures and interventions on stigma of mental illness. Methods A systematic search of papers was conducted in the MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Google scholar through January 2003 to April 2019. Results Forty-one studies in Pacific Rim region which met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. The rate of stigma of mental illness (e.g., public stigma: from 25.4 to 85.2%) was relatively high in Pacific Rim region. Culture factors (e.g., Collectivism, Confucianism, face concern and familism, religion and supernatural beliefs) contributed to people’s stigmatizing behaviors and attitudes toward persons with mental illness, their relatives and mental health professionals. Certain measurements were developed and employed to assess different type of cultural factors related to stigma of mental illness. Conclusions Cultural factors play an important role in influencing the rate and performance of stigma of mental illness. Further research on stigma of mental illness and culture-specific interventions to reduce the stigma should be conducted in the Pacific Rim region.

Background Public engagement events are an important early strategy in developing a meaningful research agenda, which is more impactful and beneficial to the population. Evidence indicates the potential of such activities to promote mental health literacy. However, this has not yet been explored in Indonesia. Aim This paper describes a mental health public engagement festival carried out in Indonesia in November 2018 and uses evaluation data to consider the acceptability and use of such activities in Indonesia in the future. Method Evaluation data was collected from 324 of the 737 people who attended a six-day mental health festival comprising 18 events including public lectures, film screenings, arts activities, exercise classes and panel discussions. Attendees were asked to evaluate the festival in terms of its quality, benefits and areas for improvement. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the evaluation data. 87 service users, carers, academics and professionals also engaged in a research prioritisation exercise to collaboratively determine mental health research priorities for Indonesia. Results Participants evaluated the festival extremely positively with a significant majority (92%) rating the quality of the festival as good or excellent. Attendees reported an increase in their understanding of mental health issues and identified intended behaviour change including an increased propensity for future engagement with mental health research. Key strengths of the festival included the central role of patients, carers and the local community in the design and delivery of the festival which promoted emotional engagement and development of shared understanding and the use of international experts which in attendees’ opinion further enhanced the credibility of festival activities. Conclusion This manuscript indicates that a co-produced mental health public engagement festival is a potentially acceptable way to increase awareness of mental health in Indonesian populations. Future festivals should be larger in scope and target men, older people and the general public to maximise benefit and incorporate rigorous evaluation of effectiveness. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40900-019-0161-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Depression and anxiety are two of the leading causes of disease burden in low-to-middle income coutnries. The World Health Organisation has engaged in a programme of scaling-up mental health services, but significant challenges remain. Improving mental health literacy in children and young people, a core part of recent, global health strategies has the potential to address some of these challenges. The study aims to co-develop and feasibility test, a culturally-appropriate toolkit to promote depression and anxiety focused mental health literacy and self-management skills in Indonesia, for children aged 11–15 years. Methods A mixed methods study comprising four phases. Through a systematic review of existing evidence, phase 1 will review approaches to improve mental health literacy and self-management in South East Asia and critically review current evidence regarding intervention effect. Phase 2 will explore stakeholders’ views on depression, anxiety and mental health more broadly and identify priorities for the intervention through the use of semi-structured interviews and/or focus groups with policy makers, clinicians, teachers, adolescent service users, carers and young people aged 11–15. Phase 3 will comprise iterative workshops with local stakeholders to present our findings and co-produce a testable, culturally appropriate toolkit to promote mental health literacy and depression/anxiety focused self-management in 11–15 year olds in Java, Indonesia. Phase 4 comprises feasibility evaluation of our developed intervention via nine in-depth case studies (Jakarta, Bogor and Magelang). We will examine the impact, acceptability and feasibility of our prototype intervention and produce evidence-based guidelines for wider implementation. Discussion Tools to support mental health literacy and self-management are a low cost way in which mental health services in LMICs can attempt to address the burden of anxiety and depression amongst children and young people. However, this is an underexplored area in Indonesia. Working closely with local stakeholders, this study will design and undertake feasibility evaluation of co-produced mental health literacy and anxiety and depression focussed interactive self-management tools. This abstract has also been published on the funders website (UK Research and Innovation. Improving Mental Health Literacy Among Young People aged 12-15 years in Indonesia 2019). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-4328-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background It is estimated that 77.0% of suicide cases occurred in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), which would increase because of the COVID-19 pandemic and socioeconomic inequity. However, there is lack of reports on this topic from LMICs, especially during the pandemic. Therefore, this nationwide study aimed to explore self-harm and suicide ideation and its predictive variables during the pandemic in Indonesia as a MIC with the highest COVID-19 fatality rate in Asia. Methods Non-random sampling online survey was conducted nationwide between 25 May and 16 June 2021. The collected data were demographic variables (i.e. age group), loneliness from social isolation using The UCLA Loneliness Scale Six Items (ULS-6), and self-harm and suicide ideation using item 9 of The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Predictive model was analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression. Results A total of 5211 participants from all 34 provinces in Indonesia completed the survey. Among 39.3% of them reported self-harm and suicide ideation during the pandemic, which significantly correlated with loneliness. The predictive variables associated with the likelihood of self-harm and suicide ideation were age, residence, job, religion, sex-gender, sexual orientation, HIV status, disability status, and loneliness. The predictive model showed a significant goodness-of-fit to the observed data (x2 [ (15)] = 1803.46, p < .001), RN2 = .40. Conclusion Four out of 10 Indonesians experienced self-harm and suicide ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly people within the age range of 18–24, living in the Java Island, unemployed/student/retired and freelancer, women, members of minority and marginalized communities, and experience of loneliness during the pandemic.

Background Many mental health problems emerge in late childhood and contribute significantly to the global burden of disease. Adverse outcomes can extend into adulthood if left untreated. This impact is exacerbated in low- and middle-income countries where significant treatment gaps persist. Improving mental health literacy may offer an effective strategy for early intervention but remains underexplored in these contexts. Methods An intervention was co-developed with children and young people (CYP) by undertaking a needs analysis combined with stakeholder consensus activities. A systematic review of mental health literacy interventions in South-East Asia was undertaken in addition to semi-structured interviews with 43 children and young people (19 with and 24 without experience of anxiety and depression), 19 parents of children with experience of mental health problems and 25 education and health professionals. A focus group was also held with 8 key stakeholders immersed nationally in policy and practice. Interview schedules explored participants’ experiences of mental health, unmet needs and priorities for intervention. Data were synthesised and presented at a 3-day co-production workshop. Attendees included 13 CYP, 6 parents/guardians, 2 teachers, 8 health professionals, 2 academics and 3 game designers. Consensus exercises were utilised to identify the preferred format, content and delivery of the intervention. A smaller group of patient and public involvement contributors worked with designers to further iterate the intervention. Results An immersive storyline digital application was co-developed for young people aged 11–15 with the primary aim of improving mental health literacy and self-management. The intervention comprises two chapters; one depression focussed, and the other anxiety focussed. The storyline format is interspersed with interactive games and exercises to promote engagement and encourage self-management. CYP also take part in group sessions delivered by trained facilitators before and after intervention use to discuss outcomes of and issues raised during the game. Conclusion The IMPeTUs intervention has been co-designed for CYP aged 11–15 to improve mental health literacy and enhance self-management abilities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Indonesian digital intervention to improve mental health literacy and self-management for this population. Implementation, acceptability, and impact are currently being explored in a multi-site case study evaluation.