Poster #161 - Hidden Crisis: Unveiling Suicide Attempt Rates on Medellin’s Subway Through a Public Mental Health Program

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

This paper estimates the effect of a public mental health program in Medellin, Colombia, called Escuchaderos, on suicide attempts. The program consists of points of free psychologicalattention and guidance for the population, some of which are located within metro stations. Using a Difference-in-Differences approach, we find that suicide attempts in metro stations withEscuchaderos decrease among women but not among men. Suicide attempts among women decrease between 0.15 and 0.27 more in metro stations with Escuchaderos, an 88% to 158%decrease. We find no effect on men’s suicide attempts, consistent with literature suggesting that men are generally less likely to seek help for mental health issues, which can affect theoverall impact of these psychological-based interventions

Author

• Monica Hernandez, Universidad EAFIT
  Presenting Author