More people in Singapore are seeking help from healthcare professionals for their mental health: NPHS 2023 survey

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In 2023, the prevalence of mental health issues rose to 15%, up from 13.4% in 2020.

Mental health in Singapore has gained increasing attention in recent years as awareness of psychological well-being grows.

Despite the stigma around mental health issues, more Singaporeans are now willing to seek help, supported by government initiatives and expanding mental health services aimed at improving access to care and reducing the burden of mental illness in the community.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) released its National Population Health Survey (NPHS) 2023, a yearly population health survey that is jointly conducted by MOH and the Health Promotion Board, on Thursday (22 August 2024).

According to the report, the prevalence of mental health issues rose to 15% in 2023, up from 13.4% in 2020.

The report broke down the results from the survey according to age, gender and ethnicity in Singapore, as follows:

Age

The report found that younger adults aged from 18 to 29 years had the highest proportion (26.0%) with poor mental health while the prevalence for other age groups were much lower, ranging from 8.2% for the 60 to 74 years age group to 17.2% for the 30 to 39 years age group.

The survey findings also revealed that in 2023, Singapore residents aged between 18 to 74 are more inclined to seek help informally from their support network (78.4%) rather than formally from healthcare professionals (62.8%) when struggling to cope with stress.

Among the age groups, Singapore residents aged 60 to 74 were the least willing to seek help from healthcare professionals, with only 51.2% open to it. In contrast, those aged 30 to 39 were the most willing, with 71.9% seeking professional help.

Similarly, the willingness to seek help from informal support networks also declined with age, with younger adults, particularly those aged between 18 to 39 years, were most likely to seek such support, with 85.4% of both the 18 to 29 and 30 to 39 age groups doing so.

On the other hand, only 65.6% of older adults aged 60 to 74 sought help from informal networks.

Gender

In addition to age-related trends, gender differences also impact mental health support in Singapore.

In 2023, more females reported poor mental health (17.6%) compared to males (12.2%). Women were also more proactive in seeking help, with 63.3% reaching out to healthcare professionals and 81.6% turning to informal support networks.

In comparison, 62.3% of men sought professional help, and 75.1% sought support from informal networks.

Ethnicity

Shifting focus from gender to ethnicity, there are notable differences in mental health across ethnic groups in Singapore.

In 2023, Malays and Indians both reported higher rates of poor mental health (16.1%) compared to Chinese residents (14.7%).

Among Indians, the disparity was particularly pronounced, with 21.1% of Indian females experiencing poor mental health, nearly double the 11.3% rate for Indian males.

In contrast, the difference between male and female mental health rates was less significant among both Chinese and Malays.

* Healthcare professionals include counsellors, doctors, psychologists or psychiatrists. Informal support networks refer to friends, relatives, colleagues, religious leaders and teachers in school.

In terms of mental health, MOH has encourages citizens to take the following initiatives to achieve better mental health and wellbeing: