As a result of the December 2015 Southeast Asian regional economic integration,
several potential issues may emerge among workers in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, including mental health and
occupational health nursing concerns. This study was conducted to explore the
levels of depression, anxiety and stress among Small and Medium Enterprise
(SME) workers in four ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and
Vietnam. Participants included 2,041 SME workers (approximately 500 from each
country) from food and textile industries. Data for this cross-sectional study was
collected by self-administered questionnaire, including the Depression, Anxiety
and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to
predict the levels of depression, anxiety and stress among SME workers.
Depression had four significant predictor variables: age, sleep, employment status
and working hours per week. Anxiety had five significant predictor variables:
smoking, sleep, employment status, working hours per week and income. Stress
had six significant predictor variables: marital status, smoking, sleep, employment
status, working hours per week and income. As ASEAN economies become
increasingly integrated, more efforts from occupational health and public health
nursing professionals are needed to improve the psychological health and work
conditions of SME workers in this region.