Women with Mental Health Problems: A Study at a Care Centre in Perak, Malaysia

In Malaysia, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS, 2011), mental health problems are more prevalent amongst women than men. According to current research findings on mental health issues, women are more vulnerable than men to acquire particular mental health problems such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Furthermore, women have a higher tendency than men to seek professional help. However, the experiences of the people with mental health problems especially women have not been well understood, and in fact very much neglected or ignored. This study aims to explore the experiences of women with mental health problems on their admission and at the care centre. This study employs a qualitative research method through face-to-face in-depth interview guided by an interview guide and feminist perspective in understanding women’s health care practices. The findings are analysed using thematic analysis to extract emergent themes from the verbatim data. The main themes derived from the findings include experiences before and after admission. The results show that the admission to the centre provides both positive and negative experiences to the participants. Majority of participants were unwillingly admitted to the centre. However, the admission to the centre helped participants to improve their relationship with family members, and formed new and good relationship with other residents and the care centre staffs. Nevertheless, participants revealed that they sometimes experienced ‘oppression’ by the staffs and the medical practitioners. In addition, majority of the participants in this research more preferred to live at home with family members if they were given the choice. The findings of the study have implications on the social work practice with women with mental health problems in improving the health care policy and health care services. Keywords: Women, mental health, mental health problems, admission, care centr