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The Effects of a Large-Scale Mental-Health Reform: Evidence from Brazil

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  • Dias, Mateus
  • Fontes, Luiz Felipe

Abstract

This paper studies the Brazilian psychiatric reform, which reorganized mental healthcare provision by the public system building a network of community-based services centered on the Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPSs). Our research design exploits the roll-out of CAPSs in a differences-in-differences framework. We show that these centers improved outpatient mental healthcare utilization and reduced hospital admissions due to mental and behavioral disorders. Those reductions were more pronounced for long-stay admissions and among patients with schizophrenia. Additionally, centers delivering substance abuse treatment reduced deaths caused by alcoholic liver disease. Finally, we also find that this shift away from inpatient care increased homicides.

Suggested Citation

  • Dias, Mateus & Fontes, Luiz Felipe, 2020. "The Effects of a Large-Scale Mental-Health Reform: Evidence from Brazil," MPRA Paper 108658, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jun 2021.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:108658
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    Cited by:

    1. Matías Mrejen & Rudi Rocha, 2021. "Hiring Mental Health Professionals: Evidence from a Large-Scale Primary Care Policy in Brazil," Institutional Studies 03, Instituto de Estudos para Políticas de Saúde.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mental Health; Community care; Psychiatric Reform; CAPS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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