Youth Well-being uniquely combines mental health support and economic empowerment to enhance the success of low-income students in Colombia. Through a large-scale randomized controlled trial, this project assesses how access to digital mental health interventions can strengthen the mental health, academic achievement, and labor market prospects of university and vocational students facing economic hardship.
Research aims and objectives
The aim of this project is to co-develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of a sustainable and scalable mental health intervention among vulnerable young people in the Renta Joven program in Colombia, and provide evidence for scaling up in Colombia and other low-income countries.
This aim will be achieved by addressing four key research questions:
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Co-developing the Intervention
What are the essential components of a co-developed, transdiagnostic, stepped-care approach that leverages digital technology, training, and peer-to-peer support to equip vulnerable young people with tools to manage depression, anxiety, and PTSD?
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Understanding Causal Mechanisms
How do mental health technologies help reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, while also improving human capital and long-term well-being outcomes among young people in the Renta Joven program?
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Evaluating Feasibility and Impact
What is the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of developing and implementing a digital mental health app? Is this intervention cost-effective, and does it yield a socioeconomic return on investment?
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Scaling and Broader Application
Can evidence from Colombia inform policy design, implementation, and evaluation in other countries? We aim to explore how mental health interventions might be integrated within existing social programs for youth in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Bolivia.
Funding
Youth Well-Being is a 4-year research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the context of the SOR4D program (grant number 400440_213267), led by Mauricio Avendano at the University of Lausanne.
Partner institutions
If you are interested in collaborating with Youth Well-Being, please complete the form on the contact page.
All photos feature participants from the Renta Joven program, provided courtesy of Prosperidad Social
© 2024 Youth Well-Being Project