A Mobile AI-Assisted Teletherapy Framework for Mental Health Support in Malaysia: Design, Evaluation, and Engineering Implications
AUTHORS
Siti Nur Aisyah Ahmad,Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Mohd Shahizan Othman,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Norliza Zaini,Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
Mohd Yamani Idna Idris,Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
The increasing prevalence of mental health challenges in Malaysia, compounded by urbanization, academic pressure, and limited access to mental healthcare services, necessitates scalable technological interventions. This study proposes a mobile-based artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted teletherapy framework, designed to enhance accessibility, cost-efficiency, and user engagement in mental health support systems. Unlike prior implementations, this research contextualizes teletherapy within Malaysia’s socio-technical landscape, incorporating local usage patterns, infrastructure constraints, and behavioral insights from university populations. A mixed-method explanatory sequential design was employed, combining survey data from Malaysian private university students with qualitative interviews to evaluate system feasibility and acceptance. Results indicate moderate-to-high awareness of mental health issues, strong receptivity to digital therapy tools, and cost-driven preference for online consultation. However, limitations in perceived effectiveness compared to face-to-face therapy remain significant. This study contributes a localized engineering framework for AI-enabled teletherapy, emphasizing adaptive chatbot interaction, scalable mobile architecture, and integration with Malaysia’s digital health ecosystem. The findings provide actionable insights for engineers, developers, and policymakers aiming to deploy digital mental health solutions in emerging economies.
KEYWORDS
Teletherapy, Artificial intelligence, Mobile health (mHealth), Malaysia, Mental health engineering, Chatbot systems
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