DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Improving mental health and human capital: developing a mental health intervention for 'Youth in Action' programme in post-conflict areas in Colombia

Project disclaimer

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Description

Deliver significant research funding for internationally competitive and innovative collaborative projects between researchers from Colombia and United Kingdom that will allow the pursuit of shared research interests. ODA statement says: As argued above, mental health is essential for economic development, but mental health problems are endemic in Colombia undermining economic and human development. The successful implementation of our mental health intervention will help to break the vicious cycle of poverty, low human capital, and poor mental health. We argue that embedding this intervention on a social programme such as ‘Jovenes en Accion’ might also improve the chances of success in achieving training and educational outcomes that might lead to better future life opportunities for those young people who have been left psychologically scarred by the long-lasting armed conflict in Colombia. Our study seeks to trace how the intervention helps participants reconstruct a narrative of themselves, expanding their appraisal of skills, abilities, and social expectations to a more fulfilling and productive life-track. We also aim to measure the extent to which the new narratives they are able to build translate into effective assimilation by the job market. Therefore, the evidence produced by our research project will contribute to a better understanding of how to empower vulnerable populations to recognise and act upon new economic opportunities and benefits for inclusion in post-conflict Colombia. Our project also focuses on the reconstruction of social capital in the communities prioritized by the Colombian government, defined as social cohesion, trust, attachment to place, and sense of belonging. The intervention component of our project strives to increase bonding and bridging social capital, both important factors for the economic development and wellbeing of communities afflicted by the conflict. The research component of our project will measure the improvements in human capital among individuals involved in this study and will trace the improvement in employment outcomes that are associated with the intervention. Importantly, the intervention has a model of knowledge transference to the community, training participants to learn the methodology and replicate it with other people in their community. In this sense, our project highlights the role of agency of victims in post-conflict contexts, as they build pathways to change their lives and their communities for the better. Evidence on how this agency can be recovered, strengthened and supported will prove valuable and useful for policy makers working on community development. One final and central contribution of our project to the economic development and wellbeing of the country lies on the spillover effect of improved mental health and social capital for building citizenship, cooperation and self-governance in remote communities that have little experience of participation and awareness of rights and obligations. The Foundation for Reconciliation (FFR) has established that integral to the intervention and its impact is to help people in communities heavily impacted by the conflict to gain citizenship, exercise their rights and find ways of holding their local government accountable. This in turn strengthens local institutions and governance. The project will measure the changes before and after the intervention, therefore providing evidence of the association between psychological wellbeing, citizenship and the strengthening of local institutions. Strong institutions are essential to the welfare of citizens and a pivotal element for the sustainable and long-term economic development of these communities and the country as a whole.

Objectives

The fund addresses the UN sustainable development goals. It aims to maximise the impact of research and innovation to improve lives and opportunity in the developing world

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Location

The country, countries or regions that benefit from this Programme.

Colombia

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