Week 6: Macro Interventions (Policy & Meta)
IN THIS LESSON
Macro Interventions operate at a societal scale, aiming to change the fundamental factors influencing the mental health of entire populations.
For this section, complete the following readings:
Determinants of Wellbeing
Origins of happiness: Evidence and policy implications | CEPRhappiness: Evidence and policy implications - Ward et al.(7 min text)
Mental Health: Risk factors for mental health - Dattani et al (5 min text)
Introduction - Why Wellbeing? - Paula Lehtomäki (6 min text)
Wellbeing & Policy
World happiness report - Helliwell et al.
Part: Executive Summary (7 min text)
Universal basic income: a way through the storm? - Open Democracy (2 min video)
Wellbeing Economy Alliance - (2 min)
Degrowth: Is it time to live better with less? - Sam Meredith (6 min video)
Real-World Programs
“It can be done” – combating stigma and discrimination for better mental health services in Kazakhstan - The WHO (5 min text)
World mental health report - The WHO
Part: Chapter 6.3.2 Protecting and promoting child and adolescent mental health (14 min text) (pages 170-180; pages 148-158 in the pamphlet)
Positive Education - Charity Entrepreneurship
Part: Description of the intervention & Summary conclusion Pages 5-8 (7 min text)
The potential of biotech
Feel free to check out the Optional Resources below, or save ones that look interesting to read later!
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Career and internship opportunities:
EA opportunity board– A website and job board helping aspiring effective altruists skill-build and find impactful positions.
List of mental health charities and organisations (for potential internships, volunteering or collaborating. Taking initiative and reaching out to them might provide valuable opportunities!)
Globally Minded: Education and work in GMH
Charity entrepreneurship helps launch high-impact nonprofits by connecting entrepreneurs with effective ideas, training, and funding. Mental health is a regular focus area, as explained in this EA Forum post.
Communities:
EA Mental Health – The EA Mental Health Slack channel, containing sub-groups where you can get access and contribute to in-depth expert discussions, materials, and insights that are shared within the community.
Effective Altruism Forum: Mental Health and Psychology – Effective Altruism Forum’s directory and overview of ‘mental health’ and ‘psychology’ tagged posts. Sign up to contribute and join the larger community!
Psychology for Effective Altruism – A global community of EAs inspired by how Psychology and Behavioral Sciences contribute to Effective Altruism Cause Areas, such as Global Mental Health Interventions, Community and Individual Wellbeing, and Meta-EA – interventions specifically for our fellow EAs worldwide.
Effective Altruism, Mental Health, and Happiness – A group to discuss the best ways individuals and organisations can use their resources to increase the happiness and life satisfaction of others.
EA Peer Support – This is a help and support group for members of the EA community dealing with personal problems. The group is intended for people who need support and/or offer support.
Effective Altruism Medicine – A network of healthcare members, who use evidence and reason to decide how we can maximise our impact in helping others. The Effective Altruism Medicine group was created for all healthcare and medical professionals.
Effective Peer Support – A place for EAs to share and discuss their issues, get together in groups and 1:1, as well as get support from the trained helpers and peers.
Funding for projects:
Wellcome Philanthropic funder (bigger than Open Philanthropy) that has dedicated ⅓ of their resources to mental health, and are currently funding researchers and research projects
Open Philanthropy – Open Philanthropy is a philanthropic fund focused on long-termism and global health and well-being.
Fondsenwerving online - Provides grants for mental health related projects in the Netherlands
Newsletters
High Impact Psychology Newsletter (near the bottom)
Events
Research (directions):
Is investing in research more cost-effective than implementing interventions? The case for research
Research Directions (by High Impact Psychology):
Psychology for Effectively Improving the Future – Effective Altruism Psychology Lab’s current primary research agenda outlines research questions aimed at generating insights about human psychology and behavior that can guide and assist the longtermism project. They also have various other research publications relevant to psychology including The Psychology of (In)Effective Altruism, The many obstacles to effective giving, and The Psychology of Existential Risk.
Recommended Research Directions – Effective Thesis outlines potential high-impact areas for research and suggested courses of action within them (enable the ‘Psychology and Cognitive Sciences’ tag to filter relevant topics). You can reach out to them for advice on research, as well as connections to students, supervisors, or funding and research opportunities.
LIS Reading List and Research Priorities – Life Improvement Science offers publications and research suggestions for high-impact behavioral science.
List of Important Psychology Topics to Study – Spencer Greenberg of Clearer Thinking offers a list of important potential high-impact topics and questions to research.
Recommended Readings
