Relational and psychological mediators of change in low‐income couples' perceived health

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
McKenzie K. Roddy ◽  
Brian D. Doss
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Erkkola ◽  
L Uusitalo ◽  
K Puputti ◽  
T Saari ◽  
P Jallinoja ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There is a paucity of comparable quantitative data on the prevalence and predictors of food insecurity in high-income countries. We applied the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) to assess food insecurity among i) the Service Union United members; female-dominated, low-income employees of the Finnish private service sector, and ii) a convenience sample of Finnish food pantry clients. Methods The HFIAS classification was based on 9 validated questions capturing respondents' perceptions on food scarcity and behavioural responses to food insecurity due to lack of resources during the past month. The resulting indicator categorized respondents as food secure, and mildly, moderately and severely food insecure. We performed cross-tabulations and regression models to assess if education, housing, self-perceived health, income, and resource scarcity associated with levels of food insecurity. In addition, gender, age, and self-perceived disadvantage were assessed among the food pantry clients. Results Among the service workers (n = 6 573, 6% of those invited), 35% were food secure, 29% mildly or moderately food insecure, and 36% severely food insecure. The respective proportions were 28%, 26%, and 46% among the 129 food pantry clients. All assessed variables were associated to food insecurity status in the service workers (p < 0.01 for all). Among the food pantry clients, men (OR 1.60; 95% CI 1.09 − 4.80) and homeless/tenants in community rental units (OR 7.12; 95% CI 2.42 − 20.95) were most likely to experience severe food insecurity. Conclusions Alongside the food pantry clients the majority of the service workers demonstrated some degree of food insecurity, with a considerable proportion being severely food-insecure. This predominantly low-income group is subject to rapid changes in the labour market and social security systems. The data demonstrated that well-known SES indicators and self-perceived health are linked to food insecurity. Key messages Severe food insecurity was common among predominantly low-income private sector service workers and food pantry clients. Food insecurity is linked to SES indicators and wellbeing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A67.2-A67
Author(s):  
Michael Silva-Peñaherrera ◽  
María Lopez-Ruiz ◽  
Pamela Merino-Salazar ◽  
Antonio Goméz-García ◽  
Fernando Benavides

BackgroundWorking and employment conditions are weighty health determinants. Low-income countries are frequently exposed to occupational risks, employment agreements are poorly regulated and a high proportion of the working population are in the informal sector. Studies in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) have been hampered by the lack of reliable data available.ObjectiveTo describe and compare the health inequality gap among workers of 20 countries of LAC.MethodsData have been taken from the last available Working Conditions Survey, National Health Surveys and from official records and national statistical institutes of each country. Three indicators were calculated to estimate health status of the working population (poor-self-perceived health, fatal and non-fatal injuries at work and general mortality within the working-age population), stratified by sex, age, level of study and occupation. Disparity was measured using Keppel index of disparity (ID) and Kuznets relative. Absolute and relative differences were calculated using the best health status country as reference category.ResultsMortality among the working-age population was higher in men and varied from 87.4 deaths per 1000 inhabitants in Chile to over 182.2 in Bolivia. Keppel ID between countries was 0.5, indicating medium-high disparity. The prevalence of poor self-perceived health was higher in women and revealed a gradient by age, education level and occupation, in which young people in qualified non-manual occupations and high levels of study had lower prevalence. The ID was 0.7 between countries demonstrating high disparity and the range varied from 12.2 in Uruguay to 50.9 in Nicaragua.ConclusionsThis study reveals the existence of wide gaps in health among workers in LAC, both within and between countries. The limitations of cross-country comparative data should considered. However, this analysis increases our understanding of the causes of inequalities and provides evidence to establish better public policies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1353-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mª Visitación Sanchón-Macias ◽  
Dolores Prieto-Salceda ◽  
Andreu Bover-Bover ◽  
Denise Gastaldo

OBJECTIVE: to explore the relationship between socioeconomic status and subjective social status and explain how subjective social status predicts health in immigrant women. METHODS: cross-sectional study based on data from 371 Latin American women (16-65 years old) from a total of 7,056 registered immigrants accesse through community parthers between 2009-2010. Socioeconomic status was measured through education, income and occupation; subjective social status was measured using the MacArthur Scale, and perceived health, using a Likert scale. RESULTS: a weak correlation between socioeconomic and subjective social status was found. In the bivariate analysis, a significantly higher prevalence of negative perceived health in women with no education, low income, undocumented employment was observed. In the multivariate analysis, higher odds of prevalence of negative perceptions of health in the lower levels of the MacArthur scale were observed. No significant differences with the rest of the variables were found. CONCLUSIONS: the study suggests that subjective social status was a better predictor of health status than the socioeconomic status measurements. Therefore, the use of this measurement may be relevant to the study of health inequalities, particularly in socially disadvantaged groups such as immigrants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-208
Author(s):  
Jose M. Montero-Moraga ◽  
Fernando G. Benavides ◽  
Maria Lopez-Ruiz

Informal employment is an employment condition in which workers are not protected by labor regulations. It has been associated with poor health status in middle- and low-income countries, but it is still a neglected issue in high-income countries. Our aim was to estimate the association between health status and employment profiles in Spain, attending to the role of workplace risk factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 8,060 workers from the Seventh Spanish Working Conditions Survey (2011). We defined 4 employment profiles and estimated the associations between them and poor self-perceived health using Poisson regression models. All analyses were stratified by sex. The prevalence of the informal profile was 4% for women and 1.5% for men. Differences in self-perceived health status among employment profiles were negligible. Only women engaged in informal employment had poorer self-perceived health than those in the reference profile. This difference disappeared after adjusting models for psychosocial risk factors. In conclusion, we did not find differences in self-perceived health status between employment profiles, except for women in informal employment. Efforts should be made to improve the psychosocial risk factors in women in informal employment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 148S-156S ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh-Huyen T. Vu ◽  
Allison Groom ◽  
Joy L. Hart ◽  
Hy Tran ◽  
Robyn L. Landry ◽  
...  

Background. The prevalence of e-cigarette use among youth is rising and may be associated with perceptions of health risks for these products. We examined how demographic factors and socioeconomic status (SES) are correlated with the perceived health risks of e-cigarette product contents among youth. Method. Data were from a national online survey of youth aged 13 to 18 between August and October 2017, weighted to be representative of the overall U.S. population in age, sex, race/ethnicity, and region. Survey analysis procedures were used. Results. Of 1,549 e-cigarette users and 1,451 never-e-cigarette users, 20.9% were Hispanic, 13.7% Black, 21.7% LGBTQ (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer), and 49.3% in low-income families. With adjustment for e-cigarette use status, perceived health risks of nicotine and toxins/chemicals in e-cigarettes significantly differed by gender, race, sexual orientation, and SES ( ps < .05). For example, adjusted odds of perceiving harm from nicotine were 60% higher in girls versus boys, 34% lower in non-Hispanic Blacks versus non-Hispanic Whites, 33% lower in urban versus suburban residents, 40% higher in LGBTQ versus straight-identifying individuals, and 28% lower in low-income versus high-income families. Lower parental education level also was associated with children’s lower health risk perception of e-cigarette product contents. Conclusions. For youth, the perceived health risks of e-cigarette product contents were associated with demographics, sexual orientation, and SES. The findings may have relevance for developing communication and education strategies addressing specific youth audiences, especially those in vulnerable groups. These strategies could improve awareness among youth concerning the health risks of e-cigarettes, helping to prevent or reduce e-cigarette uptake and continued use.


Author(s):  
Gera E. Nagelhout ◽  
Latifa Abidi ◽  
Hein de Vries

Multiproblem households that receive social care for multiple problems, such as debts, psychiatric disorders, and domestic violence, may also be disadvantaged in terms of health and social networks. This study examines whether low-income multiproblem households and the general population differ in self-perceived health, mental health, health behaviors, and social networks. We performed a cross-sectional survey among respondents from low-income multiproblem households (n = 105) and the general population (n = 99) in the municipality of Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. Comparisons with national statistics data indicated that our sample of multiproblem households is more disadvantaged in terms of self-perceived health and mental health than low socioeconomic groups in general in the Netherlands. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that being part of the multiproblem household group versus the general population group was associated with a lower educational level, a lower likelihood of being in paid employment, a lower score with respect to mental health, less alcohol consumption, and less fruit consumption. There were also differences between the groups on other variables, but these were not significant in adjusted analyses. In conclusion, multiproblem households in Apeldoorn had lower scores on mental health, drank fewer alcoholic drinks per week, and ate less fruit than the general population.


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