Understanding community-based mental health interventions among migrant workers in Singapore

Migrants in Singapore face unique mental health risk factors and barriers to formal care. Within this context, the Migrant Writers of Singapore (an arts collective) has organised a community-based intervention to address mental health needs, the Mental Health Awareness and Well-Being Festival.

To understand migrants' motivations for organising and participating in the Festival as a form of community-based mental health support, as well as their perspectives on the role and effectiveness of such interventions.

Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted in October and November 2023, with 10 members of MWS involved in the Festival.

Interviewees were primarily motivated by personal experiences of giving or receiving peer support, or finding relief through MWS's arts-based activities; and to a smaller extent by the need for greater mental health awareness among migrants. Interviewees saw the value of community-based interventions in: (i) easing loneliness, (ii) establishing solidarity, (iii) facilitating communication in help-seeking, and (iv) building longer-term social networks.

Findings suggest that community-based interventions may be an enabler of peer support, and help address underlying mental health risk factors. Arts-based activities can enhance these interventions, though further research is required to evaluate concrete outcomes, and ascertain the wider applicability of these findings.