Selection of Mental Health Intervention Programs for University Students Using Fuzzy TOPSIS

Universities carry a central responsibility in student well-being, as there has been a troubling increase in the number of university students experiencing mental health challenges, ranging from anxiety and depression to emotional distress. This growing concern highlights the urgent need for universities to identify and implement effective mental health intervention programs. In this study, selecting a mental health program is viewed as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem and analyzed using the fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (fuzzy TOPSIS). The study involved six experts from the Psychology and Counseling Unit at UiTM Cawangan Kelantan, who evaluated four intervention alternatives: counseling and therapy services, physical activities, peer support groups, and online mental health resources. In addition, five key criteria were considered: accessibility, effectiveness, cost-efficiency, flexibility, and privacy. The findings demonstrate that counseling and therapy services are ranked as the most effective mental health intervention programs based on expert evaluation. Therefore, universities must focus on interventions that enhance students’ psychological well-being and emotional resilience.