Table 2 Description of studies examining the health impact of social assistance (N = 17)
Authors | Country | Relevant question | Study design | Health outcome | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baigi et al. (2008) [22] | Sweden | How does the health of social assistance recipients compare to that of non-recipients? | Descriptive: Cross-Sectional | Health behavioursPsychological symptomsPhysiological symptoms | Relative to non-recipients, recipients of social assistance reported worse psychological and physiological health and worse health-related behaviours. For example, they reported higher rates of anxiety (OR 2.73, 95% CI 2.11-3.53), hand/knee pain (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.79-3.03), and smoking (OR 4.59, 95% CI 3.56-5.93). |
Basu et al. (2016) [23] | United States | How did welfare reform affect the health of social assistance recipients? | Quasi-Experimental | Health behaviours | Among low-income single mothers, welfare reform was associated with an 8.8% increase in rates of smoking (95% CI 6.8%-10.8%) and an 8.3% increase in rates of binge drinking (95% CI 4.7%-12.0%) |
Butterworth (2003) [24] | Australia | How does the health of social assistance recipients compare to that of non-recipients? | Descriptive:Cross-Sectional | Psychological symptomsMental disorders | Relative to non-recipients, social assistance recipients reported higher rates of psychological symptoms (OR 2.77, 95% CI 2.38-3.24) and mental disorders (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.64-2.26) |
Butterworth et al. (2011) [25] | Australia | How does the health of social assistance recipients compare to that of non-recipients? | Descriptive:Cross-Sectional | Mental disorders | Relative to non-recipients, social assistance recipients reported higher rates of mental disorders. For example, unemployed recipients were 60% more likely (95% CI 1.02-2.54) to report a mental disorder compared to non-recipients. |
Dooley and Prause (2002) [26] | United States | What is the association between a transition into social assistance and health among women? | Descriptive: Longitudinal | Health behavioursPsychological symptoms | A transition into social assistance was associated with a higher frequency of depressive symptoms (β=0.06, p<0.05) and higher rates of binge drinking (OR 2.06, p<0.05). |
Ensminger and Juan (2001) [38] | United States | What is the association between baseline receipt of social assistance and later health outcomes among low-income mothers? | Descriptive: Longitudinal | Chronic conditionsPsychological symptomsSelf-rated health | Relative to non-recipients, mothers who received social assistance during young or middle adulthood reported higher rates of poor self-rated health (OR 2.51, p<0.05), higher rates of psychological distress (OR 1.82, p<0.10), and a higher frequency of depressive symptoms (β=0.17, p<0.10) |
Ford et al. (2010) [27] | United Kingdom | Does the receipt of social assistance mitigate the adverse health consequences of unemployment? | Descriptive: Cross-Sectional | Psychological disorders | Among the unemployed, recipients of social assistance reported higher rates of psychological disorders than their non-recipient counterparts (OR 2.85, 95% CI 2.07-3.92) |
Jayakody et al. (2000) [28] | United States | How does the health of social assistance recipients compare to that of non-recipients? | Descriptive: Cross-Sectional | Psychological disorders | Relative to non-recipients, social assistance recipients reported higher rates of psychological disorders (OR 1.35, p<0.05). |
Kiely and Butterworth (2013) [29] | Australia | What is the longitudinal association between social assistance recipiency and health? | Descriptive:Longitudinal | General mental health | Movement into social assistance recipiency was associated with worse mental health scores (β=-2.45, p<0.001) |
Løyland et al. (2011) [30] | Norway | How does the health of social assistance recipients compare to the health of non-recipients? | Descriptive: Cross-Sectional | Psychological symptoms | Relative to non-recipients, social assistance recipients reported a higher frequency of psychological symptoms, including higher rates of sadness, fearfulness, and hopelessness. |
Muennig et al. (2013) [36] | United States | How did welfare reform affect the health of social assistance recipients? | Experimental | Mortality | Relative to the non-participant control group, social assistance recipients who participated in the Florida Family Transition Program experienced a 16% higher mortality rate (95% CI 14%-19%). |
Narain et al. (2017) [31] | United States | How did welfare reform affect the health of social assistance recipients? | Quasi-Experimental | Self-rated health | Among white low-income single mothers, welfare reform was associated with a 7.0% increase in the prevalence of poor self-rated health (95% CI 1%-12%). Significant estimates were not found among other racial subgroups. |
Rodriguez (2001) [32] | GermanyUnited KingdomUnited States | Does the receipt of social assistance mitigate the adverse health consequences of unemployment? | Descriptive: Longitudinal | Self-rated health | Among the unemployed, recipients of social assistance reported higher rates of poor self-rated health relative to non-recipients in Germany (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.14-4.35), the United Kingdom (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.08-2.35), and the United States (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.43-4.06). |
Rodriguez et al. (1997) [33] | United States | Does the receipt of social assistance mitigate the adverse health consequences of unemployment? | Descriptive: Cross-Sectional | Depressive symptomsSelf-rated health | Among the unemployed, recipients of social assistance reported a higher frequency of depressive symptoms (β=10.8, 95% CI 5.23-16.2) relative to their non-recipient counterparts. |
Rodriguez et al. (2001) [34] | United States | Does the receipt of social assistance mitigate the adverse health consequences of unemployment? | Descriptive: Longitudinal | Depressive symptoms | Among the unemployed, recipients of social assistance reported a higher frequency of depressive symptoms in both the short and long term relative to their non-recipient counterparts. |
Vozoris and Tarasuk (2004) [35] | Canada | How does the health of social assistance recipients compare to that of non-recipients? | Descriptive: Cross-Sectional | Chronic conditionsDepressionSelf-rated health | Relative to non-recipients, social assistance recipients reported significantly higher rates of poor self-rated health (OR 3.9, 95% CI 2.8-5.3), depression (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.9-4.0), diabetes (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3-4.4), and obesity (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.3). |
Wilde et al. (2014) [37] | United States | How did welfare reform affect the health of social assistance recipients? | Experimental | Mortality | Relative to the non-participant control group, social assistance recipients who participated in the Connecticut Jobs First initiative reported a sizeable though statistically insignificant increase in mortality (OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.87-1.46). |