Effectiveness of Mental Health Promotion Policies and Programs of State Universities

The Mental Health Law, also known as RA 11036, is the approved legal basis for promoting awareness about mental health. It mandates every local government unit and academic institution to create its programs following the general guidelines set by the Philippine Council for Mental Health created under this law. Moreover, because there is a growing number of adolescents suffering from mental health problems, there is an excellent need for universities to take care of students’ mental health. This study primarily seeks to assess the effectiveness of mental health promotion policies and programs in the state universities of Region 2 in the Philippines and to know if there are significant differences between the respondents’ assessed effectiveness when grouped according to their profile variables: students (age, sex, years of stay, course) and implementers (educational attainment, years of experience, number of seminar/training & employment status). The study utilized a quantitative method, specifically using a survey questionnaire. Sampling was done through stratified and convenience sampling. The study’s results show that both students and implementers rated the efforts of the state universities in implementing mental health promotion policies and programs as “effective.” Implementers consistently gave higher ratings than students. Moreover, significant differences were present among the respondents’ assessed effectiveness of the academic institutions when grouped according to university, sex, and course/program. Regarding years of stay, only the indicator “facility access and referral mechanisms for psychosocial support” received a significant difference rating.