NIOSH CALLS FOR PROMOTION OF MENTAL HEALTH

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- The National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) today urged the government to introduce guidelines to
assist employers promote mental health amongst their employees.

Its chairman, Lee Lam Thye, said he recently found that there were
still employers who were averse to discussing mental health promotion at the
workplace due to lack of understanding of associating mental health with mental
illness.

"In promoting health care measures, employers can assist by formulating a
programme which focuses on the identification of problems at workplaces related
to poor mental health," he said in a statement here.

Lee suggested that steps be taken to develop a mental health care programme,
improving the work environment, providing counselling services and taking
measures to protect worker privacy.

"It is important to ensure the happiness and well-being of the workers and
their families through initiatives to promote good mental health at the
workplace from the viewpoint of sound human resource development," he added.


He said health surveys had shown that mental disorders occurred in about one
in five individuals or 20 per cent of the world population each year.

"Thus, we cannot be unconcerned over the increasing spate of incidents
involving the mentally ill or those suffering from mental disorders," he added.

-- BERNAMA