Mental health challenges can exacerbate poverty by limiting educational attainment, reducing social mobility, and hindering economic advancement. Globally, increasing higher education participation among low-income students is a key policy priority to combat poverty.
While efforts typically target financial or access barriers, the critical role of mental health is often overlooked. Digital mental health technologies have emerged as scalable and potentially cost-effective solutions to bridge the mental health care gap, particularly for vulnerable young adults.
While evidence suggests these interventions can improve mental health in the short term, existing studies are often small-scale, underpowered, and predominantly from high income countries.
This study examines the effects of digital mental health technology on the mental health, educational, and economic outcomes of low-income students in Colombia.
The trial is embedded within the Renta Joven program, a nationwide conditional cash transfer initiative supporting low-income young people to access, persist in, and graduate from higher education.
