ZAMBOANGA CITY (PIA) – The Department of Health Region (DOH)-9, in line with the Mental Health Awareness month advocacy, encouraged private and government offices to create a healthy and safe environment for employees.
DOH-9 reports a growing number of individuals experiencing mental health issues across the Zamboanga Peninsula region, with a significant portion of cases involving working professionals.
Dr. Rolando Lilienthal Bucoy, medical officer of DOH-9, explained that this year’s mental health awareness campaign will shift its focus to employees in the workforce.
In previous years, the advocacy primarily centered on the youth, a group particularly vulnerable to mental health struggles due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges.
“This year DOH-9 prioritizes mental health in the workplace because a lot of workers in different agencies, government and private, suffer silently,” Dr. Bucoy said during the PIA Kapihan na Zamboanga. He said the reasons might be financial, family matters, or any other cause of mental health struggles.
Dr. Bucoy emphasized the impact of the workforce’s mental well-being on productivity, urging both government and private offices to foster mentally healthy and safe environments for their employees.
He reiterated that mental health stigma remains a global issue, and DOH-9 is actively working to combat it by raising awareness, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) of the region. In these communities, there is often limited understanding of the importance of mental health and its effects on overall well-being.
To address these concerns, the DOH-9 is focused on improving access to mental health services, particularly in remote areas, by offering free medicines for mental health at healthcare centers and increasing outreach efforts.
Dr. Bucoy underscored the importance of helping working individuals open up, share their feelings, and learn how to seek help in order to prevent depression and suicide.
“We need to concentrate on these clients [working individuals] so that they can express what they feel, know what to do, and where to go for help,” he added, stressing the importance of professional support in managing mental health challenges. (EDT/MLE/DBE/PIA9-Zamboanga City)
