Abstract
Asian economies are passing through a challenging time especially after the global pandemic. After declaring bankruptcy by Pakistan followed by Sri Lanka, it has sent a shockwave across the globes to all Asian citizens worldwide, particularly to international students. This research conducted a mixed methodological approach by interviewing 10 Asian policymakers, 20 psychiatrists and 80 Malaysian international students in the United States. Verbatim expression was maintained for precision and focus group discussions were conducted for holistic analysis of the merging psychological concerns. The paper found Malaysian students are experiencing a high level of trauma since the event of Pakistan. A majority of the participants expressed their concerns regarding economic stability, and we found a high-volume growth in visit to psychological centre by the Malaysians recently. This research revealed policymakers are emphasizing on regaining economic stability rather than focusing on the mental health aspects. Further studies are to be conducted to understand the context holistically.
Reference32 articles.
1. Ahanom Ghebreyesus T. Addressing mental health needs: an integral part of COVID-19 response. World Psychiatry. 2020;19(2):129–30.
2. Auerbach J, Miller BF. COVID-19 exposes the cracks in our already fragile mental health system. Am J Public Health. 2020. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305699.
3. Conerly, B. (2022, November 2). The recession will begin late 2023 or early 2024. Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2022/11/01/the-recession-will-begin-late-2023-or-early-2024/?sh=6d4f7ec51add
4. D’Agostino A, Demartini B, Cavallotti S, Gambini O. Mental health services in Italy during the COVID-19 outbreak. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(5):385–7.
5. Drew DA, Nguyen LH, Steves CJ, Menni C, Freydin M, Varsavsky T, et al. Rapid implementation of mobile technology for real-time epidemiology of COVID-19. Science. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc0473.