HLI’s Mental Health Programme Evaluation Project - Update on the first round of evaluation

Abstract

This document outlines the initial phase of a systematic evaluation program by the Happier Lives Institute (HLI) assessing the cost-effectiveness of mental health interventions in low-resource settings from an effective altruism perspective. The focus is on identifying promising mental health programs globally that can utilize additional funding for scaling their operations. A team of volunteers employed a three-step method beginning with a comprehensive screening of 76 programs from the Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN), resulting in 25 programs deemed suitable for further detailed evaluation. The screening highlighted challenges such as the frequent lack of available cost and effectiveness data, impacting the capability to accurately rate program cost-effectiveness. Future evaluations aim to refine the list of programs through more rigorous methods and establish their comparability to current high-impact interventions recommended by entities like GiveWell. – AI-generated abstract.