Identifying Research Area in Mental Health under National Health Research Priority Setting in Malaysia

Introduction World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as an identification of individual potential state of well-being, coping with life’s normal stresses, working productively and fruitfully, and able to make community contribution.

Objective This study aims to identify gaps in mental health research globally and in Malaysia, serving to guide a national project on health research priorities setting.

Methods [Refer to Report].

Results Systematic searches retrieved 43,282 records, yielding 2890 eligible studies. Using the reference lists of included studies, an additional 216 eligible records were retrieved, yielding a total of 3106 studies. A total of 189 studies were retrieved for full text and 27 studies were included. Most of the studies concentrated on the effectiveness of interventions, epidemiology and biomedical research. Only 5 studies were concerned with rehabilitation and complication.

Conclusion This study provided a mapping of evidence used to identify, prioritize, and display gaps or priorities in mental health research. Through this exercise, a need is identified for increased research on rehabilitation and complications of various mental health conditions.