Government launch mental health app to combat depression

A mental health evaluation app by the Department of Mental Health, and collaborators, has been developed to identify the early signs of depression. The app can be downloaded to your smartphone as part of the Mor Prom application.

In Thailand, more than 1.5 million people suffer from depression, with over 4,000 cases of suicide every year. Another 53,000 people have tried to take their own lives.

The dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University, Dr. Chanchai Sittipunt, is encouraged by the app. He says the application should shorten the amount of time required for a preliminary screening, can act as a screening tool to detect depression, and the artificial intelligence used has proven to be accurate.

“Access to psychiatric services in Thailand is still limited because there are not enough medical personnel. To deal with the disease, a process of screening and early detection is very important.”

The department and partners from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Engineering, as well as the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, released the application yesterday.

Once the user completes the assessment, the results will be divided into 3 main categories of symptoms, each of which is displayed in a different colour. Green shows no symptoms, yellow reveals moderate symptoms, and red signals show severe symptoms.

The ongoing issues like the poor economy and the Covid-19 outbreak can lead to depression. Genetic factors can also contribute to mental illness.

For each colour level, professional help is recommended, as well as the department’s phone number if the case is severe.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post