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Abstract
Psychiatric screening and diagnostic assessments in Malaysia are generally translated versions of existing tools from the West due to the lack of research on indigenous mental health concepts for diagnostic and treatment purposes. This study examined the syndromes of psychotic disorder based on Western constructs within the local context to see its applicability in Malaysia. Knowledge of this investigation would help in determining the extent of adapted tools in Malaysia with regards to validity of use. Concurrently, this study aimed to develop a Malaysian Psychotic Symptoms Screening Inventory as a primary-care-level psychiatric screener. A total of 344 respondents (174 psychotic and 170 non-psychotic respondents) were recruited. Items in the instrument were derived from commonly used Western-based inventories. The generated inventory was self-administered and data collected from the respondents were factor analysed using Principle Component Analysis. Results revealed four factors, of which three indicated significance in discriminating between non-psychotics and psychotic individuals. These factors were inconsistent with Western constructs of psychosis, suggesting that psychosis could be manifested differently in Malaysia. Further studies should focus on indigenous concepts in developing localised psychiatric screening tools.
Acknowledgements
We thank the Director General of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia for permission to publish this study, and the Directors of Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Hospital Bahagia, and Permai Hospital for allowing this research to be carried out in their hospitals.
Funding
This study was funded by the Institute of Health Behaviour Research, Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Notes on contributors
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lai Oon Ng is currently a faculty member of the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sunway University. He obtained his Doctor of Psychology in clinical psychology from Murdoch University, Australia. While working on the research project of this paper, he was affiliated with Health Psychology Program, School of Healthcare Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. His special interests include cross-cultural psychopathology, behaviour modification, and autism management.
Mr. Ji Kwan Lee is a graduate in Master's of Clinical Psychology and is currently pursuing his PhD in Psychological Medicine with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia. His PhD research is on the development of psychometric instrument for chronic pain patients.
Dr. Lei Hum Wee heads the Health Behavioural Determinants Division, Institute for Health Behavioural Research, Ministry of Health Malaysia. She has served for 24 years in various capacities within the Ministry of Health Malaysia. She obtained her PhD in Health Behaviour and Communication from the Medical Faculty, University Malaya and was a research fellow at University College London where her research area is in smoking cessation. She is a member of the Medical Review and Ethics Committee (MREC), Ministry of Health Malaysia; chairperson of the Scientific Research Committee, Institute for Health Behavioural Research and reviewer for Addiction Research & Theory Journal, WHO South East Asia Journal of Public Health, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, Journal of Community Medicine and Health Education, and International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
Mr. Mohammad Zabri Johari is Senior Assistant Director at the Institute for Health Behavioural Research, Ministry of Health Malaysia. He obtained his Master's in Health Education from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and is currently pursuing his PhD in Behaviour Modelling at Newcastle University, UK. His special interests are youth behaviour and physical activity. He is also a current elected member of the Malaysian Research Ethics Committee (MREC).
Ms. Siti Sa'adiah Hassan Nudin is the Director of the Institute for Health Behavioural Research with over 30 years of experience in health promotion and education (behavioural research). She obtained her Master's of Science in Biology (Education) from Northern Illinois University, USA and Master's of Health Personnel Education from New South Wales University, Australia. She is also a current elected member of the Malaysian Research Ethics Committee (MREC).
Prof. Dr. Baharudin Omar is the Deputy Dean (Graduate & International Affairs) of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He obtained his Doctor of Science in Public Health from Tulane University, United States. His areas of expertise include mathematical science, biostatistics, and experimental design and analysis. He is also an expert in the field of forensic entomology.