There is a growing concern for the mental health and well-being of Filipino youth, as data shows the rise in suicide attempts and incidents. The Department of Education (Dep-Ed) revealed that in the Academic Year 2021-2022, there were 404 recorded cases of completed suicide among public school students along with 2,147 recorded cases of attempted suicide.
In 2013, more than 574,000 or 3% of Filipino youth tried ending their life. By 2021, the percentage rose to 7.5%, equivalent to almost 1.5 million youth with such experience. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds across the globe (WHO, 2024).
Recognizing the need to support the mental health and well-being of Filipino youth towards building healthier, resilient communities, Unilab Foundation partnered with government stakeholders such as the DepEd, Department of Health, and Commission on Higher Education together with national organizations of mental health professionals to design and roll out the Heads Up PH program in schools and colleges nationwide.
Heads Up PH is the mental health and well-being pillar of Unilab Foundation that aims to improve the mental health and well-being of young Filipinos through holistic mental health programs anchored on the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Framework and the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).
Gaps in the system
Dr. Sheila Marie G. Hocson, RGC, RPsy, RPm, LPT, former president of the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association shared her thoughts.
Hocson is a former branch leader and mentor for the American Counseling Association (ACA), and is a consultant and author of Rex Publication. She is also a research fellow and professor at the Far Eastern University Manila and is part of the technical working group for Healthy Learning Institutions and the regional quality assessor of the Commission on Higher Education. Hocson is the principal resource person for Heads Up PH.
Hocson shared that there are several factors on the rise in mental health concerns among students. Among them are the challenges brought by the pandemic, poverty, bullying, internet addiction, family, academic concerns, climate change leading to uncomfortable heat in classrooms and flooding conditions in communities, lack of mental health literacy, and the lack of interventions and resources that are available.
“In the Philippine public school system, there is only one guidance counselor serving 25,000 students. There are also not enough psychologists, psychiatrists, and developmental pediatricians who can provide help. What’s more, accessing private mental health services can be expensive.”
The stigma connected with mental health conditions is also still prevalent, and it is a barrier to help-seeking behavior. Further studies have shown that students with suicide ideations prefer talking with their peers about their mental health challenges instead of approaching their parents, guardians, and other relatives.
Results from the 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS5) of the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) show that 6 in 10, or 62%, of those who ever thought of committing suicide, did not reach out to anyone about it. Furthermore, only 2% of youth who experienced suicide attempts reached out to a professional. “Cases of mental health conditions are not diagnosed and that has hindered access to mental health programs among the youth,” Hocson explains.
Empowering early responders
Heads Up PH seeks to empower teachers and other school stakeholders to recognize signs of mental health challenges among students through the Race Against Suicide Toolkit. It is designed to be a Gatekeeper for Suicide Prevention in Schools, as a way to address the increasing cases of mental health concerns and suicidal tendencies.
The Toolkit, which has been piloted in several schools around the country, can help fill gaps on the issue of the scarcity of mental health professionals in the country, the limitations on service delivery, increased reliance on remote support, and disruptions in the continuation of mental health services.
Marie Joan Urieta, program and strategic support director of Unilab Foundation, says the purpose of the toolkit is towards early detection, a timely intervention, and a practical referral system that is implemented end to end.
“We aim to close the loop with a strategic approach, including access to medical health professionals. As soon as tendencies or risks are detected, appropriate interventions are in place. Through this, we can also advance the conversation on mental health and wellbeing, working with other stakeholders towards our shared advocacy.”
Heads Up PH, through Unilab Foundation, offers the gatekeeping program to guidance counselors, teachers, school administrators, nurses, and other staff, training them in suicide prevention, with tools on how to be aware, assess, facilitate, and manage the situation.
“Some people are not informed of the signs, symptoms, and tendencies for mental health concerns. There is the unavailability of assessment tools, such as a universal mental health screener. There is also a lack of mental health literacy and help-seeking behavior. Some people tend to be nervous and unprepared to handle cases of mental health tendencies. In some of the schools in the country, there are no accommodation policies and a lack of awareness and access to mental health services. We seek to address these through Heads Up PH,” Hocson says.
In addition to the RACE Against Suicide, training on the use of a universal screener for public schools called Child and Adolescent Risk Screener (CARS) is being rolled out with DepEd. The universal screening protocol is also a way to gather data on mental health among the youth, which can be a strong basis for priority setting, and policies that are data-driven and evidence-based.
Future-ready citizens
There is ongoing traction and appreciation for the campaign. To date, the Heads Up PH RACE Toolkit has been piloted to more than 200 trainers and 5,084 trained gatekeepers across 17 regions, in collaboration with the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association (PGCA), DepEd – National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), and partner private schools. It has been recognized at the 2023 Galing Pook Awards by DOH Healthy Pilipinas, and by the League of Corporate Foundations as the Best CSR in Health at the 2024 CSR Guild Awards. Unilab Foundation has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commission on Higher Education for a Training the Trainers Program on Suicide Prevention and Awareness in Higher Education Institutions.
Through Heads Up PH, Unilab Foundation and its partners are working together to build a strong, healthy, future-ready citizenry.
“Heads Up PH is Unilab Foundation’s culture of bayanihan in practice, where we share our strengths and put them together for a unified, cohesive solution that sustainably addresses the situation. Building a healthy, resilient youth citizenry supports nation-building and a strong society. In support of healthier communities, we want to bring together organizations and individuals to build mentally healthy schools and communities, one person at a time,” Urieta says. – Rappler.com
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