Potential mechanisms by which cash transfer programmes could improve the mental health and life chances of young people: A conceptual framework and lines of enquiry for research and policy

Mental health is inextricably linked to both poverty and future life chances such as education, skills, labour market attachment and social function. Poverty can lead to poorer mental health, which reduces opportunities and increases the risk of lifetime poverty. Cash transfer programmes are one of the most common strategies to reduce poverty and now reach substantial proportions of populations living in low- and middle-income countries. Because of their rapid expansion in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have recently gained even more importance. Recently, there have been suggestions that these cash transfers might improve youth mental health, disrupting the cycle of disadvantage at a critical period of life. Here, we present a conceptual framework describing potential mechanisms by which cash transfer programmes could improve the mental health and life chances of young people. Furthermore, we explore how theories from behavioural economics and cognitive psychology could be used to more specifically target these mechanisms and optimise the impact of cash transfers on youth mental health and life chances. Based on this, we identify several lines of enquiry and action for future research and policy.Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Epidemiological Characterization: Peritonitis Mortality Rate and Swaroop Index in the period 2017 - 2021, in Chile

Introduction: Peritonitis reaches an overall mortality up to 60%. Given the lack of national epidemiological studies, it is proposed the calculation of the mortality rate (MR) due to peritonitis between the years 2017-2021 in Chile. Methodology: Descriptive, ecological study about deaths by peritonitis between 2017 and 2021 in Chile (N=1,741), in a population older than 15 years old according to age group, sex and region with data obtained from Departamento de Estadística e Información en Salud. Descriptive statistics were used, MR calculation and Swaroop Index (SI). It did not require approval by an ethics committee. Results: A MR of 2.47/100.000 was calculated between the years 2017 and 2021, with 2020 being the highest with 3.07. The female sex presented a rate of 2.65. The age group with the highest MR is 80 and over with 141.7/100.000. For the SI by region, the XV and XII regions lead with 100%, the lowest being XI region with 83.3%. Discussion:: The peak of MR for the year 2020 coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic and the highest postoperative mortality on infected patients. The SI remains above 90% in the country, except in X and XI regions, probably due to the lower availability of high complexity centers. Conclusion: Given the lack of recent mortality data for peritonitis, a local epidemiological update was carried out, with a regional comparative perspective regarding MR in the general population and in those over 50 years old. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR]