The status of low-income neighborhoods in the post-welfare reform environment: mapping the relationship between poverty and place

It has long been recognized that children and adults living in poverty are at risk for a number of negative outcomes. As inequality in the distribution of wealth, income and opportunity has grown in the U.S. during the post-welfare reform era, impoverished children and their families have tended to become increasingly concentrated in urban low-income neighborhoods. Research evidence demonstrates that living in these neighborhoods affects family well-being in several key areas: economic and employment opportunity, health and mental health condition, crime and safety, and children's behavioral and educational outcomes. Using the neighborhood indicator approach, public and nonprofit social service agencies will be better positioned to develop a comprehensive and integrated service delivery model at the neighborhood level by using neighborhood assessment to locate services and utilize neighborhood intervention strategies.     

Welfare reform and health insurance coverage of low-income families

We study whether welfare reform adversely affected the health insurance coverage of low-educated single mothers and their children. Specifically, we investigate whether changes in the welfare caseload during the 1990s were associated with changes in Medicaid participation, private insurance coverage, and the number of uninsured among single mothers and their children. Estimates suggest that between 1996 and 1999, the 42% decrease in the welfare caseload was associated with the following changes in insurance coverage among low-educated, single mothers: a 7-9% decrease in Medicaid coverage; an increase in employer-sponsored, private insurance coverage of 6%; and a 2-9% increase in the proportion uninsured. Among children of low-educated, single mothers, effects were somewhat smaller. Since welfare policy was responsible for only part (e.g. one-third) of the decline in the caseload, welfare reform per se had significantly smaller effects on the health insurance status of low-income families. However, we found limited evidence that changes in the caseload due to state and federal welfare policy had fewer adverse consequences on insurance status than changes in the caseload due to other factors. This implies even smaller effects of welfare reform.     

Promising practices for meeting the multiple needs of low-income families in poverty neighborhoods

This review of promising practices for meeting the multiple needs of low-income families in poverty neighborhoods reveals four main themes: (1) The challenges facing low-income families living in poverty neighborhoods are not discrete-but are multidimensional; (2) Integrated family and neighborhood strengthening practices, such as the Making Connections (MC) Initiative (funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation), and the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), represent innovative strategies to address the multifaceted issues facing low-income families living in poverty neighborhoods; (3) The organizational structure, challenges and successes of the MC and HCZ provide insight into the nature of integrated family and neighborhood approaches; (4) A framework for the design of an integrated family and neighborhood program includes a focus on internal organizational processes, neighborhood processes, and external processes. This framework can assist social service agencies in moving their services toward a more integrated family and neighborhood approach.     

家庭社会经济地位和主观社会经济地位对精准扶贫家庭学生抑郁症状的影响

目的 探讨家庭社会经济地位和主观社会经济地位对精准扶贫家庭学生抑郁症状的影响。方法 采用家庭社会经济地位问卷、青少年主观社会地位量表和流调用抑郁自评量表对450名精准扶贫家庭学生进行调查。结果 （1）可能有抑郁症状的占17.4%,有抑郁症状的占57.3%;（2）家庭社会经济地位对主观社会经济地位有正向预测作用（B = 0.19,P＜0.001）,对抑郁症状的预测作用无统计学意义（B = 0.04,P＞0.05）,主观社会经济地位对抑郁症状有负向预测作用（B = - 0.28,P＜0.001）;（3）主观社会经济地位在家庭社会经济地位和抑郁症状之间起完全中介作用,中介效应值为0. 05(95%CI:- 0.09～- 0.02)。结论 精准扶贫家庭学生抑郁症状的检出率较高,家庭社会经济地位主要通过主观社会经济地位影响抑郁症状。     

家庭环境与子女心理健康的相关关系

目的　探讨家庭环境与子女心理健康以及未来疾病的关系。　方法　采用父母养育方式问卷和艾森克人格问卷 ,对 5 37名高中在校生进行调查。　结果　父母情感温暖、理解和孩子内向、外向呈正相关 ;父亲严厉惩罚、父母拒绝否认和母亲过分干涉保护与孩子掩饰呈正相关 ,差异有显著意义。　结论　家庭环境对子女的心理健康以及未来的身体健康都起到至关重要的作用。     

Globalization, poverty and women's health: mapping the connections

Poverty and other forms of inequity undermine individual and population health and retard development. Although absolute poverty has reportedly declined in recent years, research suggests that relative poverty or the gap between the rich and poor within and between countries has been exacerbated over this same period. There is growing concern about the feminization of poverty, and the impact globalization is having on this important social problem. Gender inequality persists in all regions, and women and girls continue to be over-represented among the world's poor. This suggests that women are not consistently benefitting from the economic, political and social gains globalization can offer. Instead, it appears that poor women and girls, particularly those living in developing countries, are disproportionately burdened by the costs of these swift changes to the detriment of their personal health and well-being. Immediate action is needed to correct these disparities and ensure that globalization supports both national and international commitments to poverty reduction, and the, promotion of women's health and human rights.     

The association between gender,family status and mortality

Aim  To analyse marital and gender differentials in mortality.Subjects and methods  The causes of death in Germany were analyzed in detail to determine odds ratios (OR) for all causes and the four main causes of death.Results  Mortality rates were nearly twice as high for men as for women. Mortality rates for unmarried men were more than twice as high as those for married men (OR 2.43–2.50); the ORs for women were considerably lower (1.74 to 1.75). For men, the ORs were higher for those causes of death influenced by health-risk behaviour.Conclusion  In terms of health gains, marriage seems to be more beneficial to men than to women. Particularly for men, marriage provides stronger protection against causes of death that are related to health-risk behaviour (smoking, drinking, risky driving) and to unhealthy working conditions.

Food procurement and the nutritional adequacy of diets in low-income families

Seventy-six white and black low-income families were interviewed weekly during 1 month to determine how much they spent on food using Food Stamps, WIC coupons, and cash and how much additional food they obtained from different food and meals programs. After families had received their public assistance and Food Stamp allotments for the month, a 24-hour recall was obtained each week from each family member so that food intake could be monitored from the recalls as food-buying resources were depleted. Although families bought most of their food the first 2 weeks, they maintained a relatively constant food intake through the last week of the month. However, when nutrient intakes were compared with Recommended Dietary Allowances, the diets were found to be well supplied in protein, ascorbic acid, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, vitamin A, and phosphorus, and inadequately supplied in vitamin B-6, vitamin D, vitamin E, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and pantothenic acid. Since that finding was true not just at the end of the month but from the beginning, it indicated that the nutrition problems of low-income families are not intermittent, but continuous.     

Women and poverty: the effects on reproductive status

National surveys, over the years, have provided evidence of relationship between poverty and health. In the United States, access to health care is generally dependent on the ability to pay for it. As a consequence, poor women are dependent upon government-funded social-welfare programs to attain access to health care. This paper examines the relationship between poverty and several indicators of reproductive status, and concludes that there is a relationship between poverty and poor reproductive status. The health gap between poor and nonpoor women is related to the absence of financial and other resources that dictate lifestyle.     

The urban environment, poverty and health in developing countries

The process of urbanization could be described as one of the major global environmental changes directly affecting human health today. Populations particularly affected are in developing countries where rapid urban growth has been accompanied by massive urban poverty. Urban environmental health impacts, particularly the impact on adults of an environment of poverty, are still poorly understood. Definitions of the urban environment tend to be physical, excluding the complex ramifications of a social setting of disadvantage. This paper provides a brief overview of existing knowledge on the links between environment, poverty and health in urban areas of developing countries, with an emphasis on the policy implications implied by research on health differential between groups within cities. The paper argues that urban poverty and inequalities in conditions between groups within cities present a central crisis confronting urban policy in terms of human health and quality of life. The paper suggests that definitions of the urban environment tend to consider only the physical, and not the social complexity of the urban setting. The review concludes that the scale and the complexity of the urban crisis in developing countries demands a real commitment to re-thinking the management of cities to address multiple deprivation. The paper suggests that this challenges urban professionals who continue to act with a bias towards unintegrated single sector solutions despite claims to the contrary.     

北京市低保家庭儿童孤独感及其影响因素分析

了解低保家庭儿童的孤独感现状及其影响因素,为开展困境儿童精准帮扶提供参考资料.方法 于2016年9-11月,使用儿童孤独感量表对北京市15个区2 972名低保家庭儿童进行问卷调查.结果 低保家庭儿童孤独感的检出率为7.6%(225/2 972);男生的孤独感水平(30.23±11.13)高于女生(28.70±10.85) (t=t4.402,P=0.000);不同年龄段低保家庭儿童的孤独感得分差异无统计学意义(F=0.905,P=0.995);残疾儿童和患病儿童的孤独感水平(34.47±13.64,31.91±12.05)高于健康儿童(29.19±10.82) (F=13.490,P=0.900);父母双方监护缺失儿童的孤独感水平(30.73±12.03)高于父母双方正常监护和父母一方正常监护的儿童(29.52±10.84,28.99±10.81) (F=3.928,P=0.020).结论 低保家庭儿童的孤独感值得关注,应重点关注存在生理性困境和家庭监护困境的儿童,从物质和心理方面采取相应的预防措施.     

Smart choices for healthy families: a pilot study for the treatment of childhood obesity in low-income families

This pre-post study used a mixed-methods approach to examine the impact of a family-based weight management program among a low-income population. Smart Choices for Healthy Families was developed through an integrated research-practice partnership and piloted with 26 children and parents (50% boys; mean age = 10.5 years; 54% Black) who were referred by their pediatrician. Smart Choices included six biweekly group sessions and six automated telephone-counseling calls over 3 months. Children displayed reduced body mass index z-scores (p < .05), increased lean muscle mass (p < .001), and increased quality of life (p < .0001). Follow-up interviews indicated that physicians valued the lay leaders' ability to provide lifestyle education, whereas lay leaders extended their reach to more community members. Parents wanted to become positive role models and found that the calls maintained focus on goals. Smart Choices shows promise to initiate weight management for children in low-income families.     

家庭社会经济地位与养育者育儿压力城乡差异比较

目的了解学龄前儿童养育者的育儿压力水平及城乡差异,并分析家庭社会经济地位对育儿压力的影响。方法采用方便整群抽样的方法,抽取安徽省农村地区幼儿园5所,上海市、杭州市幼儿园2所,对在园的1 597名儿童及其养育者进行问卷调查。问卷构成包括简式育儿压力量表、自制基本情况调查表和家庭社会经济地位调查表等。结果家庭收入、父母受教育程度与育儿压力密切相关。此外,儿童性别和育儿支持也会影响育儿压力。农村地区儿童养育者的育儿压力均高于城市地区。结论家庭社会经济地位对育儿压力有显著影响,农村的儿童养育者的育儿压力显著高于城市。     

Possible relationships between the physical environment and human hypertension: cadmium and hard water

There is no proven relationship between the physical environment and the pathogenesis of essential hypertension. There are, however, marked and unexplained variations in death rates from cardiovascular disease in the United States. Potable water, an environmental influence to which all persons are exposed, also varies considerably in its hardness and this hardness is inversely correlated with cardiovascular death rates. Experimentally, chronic feeding of cadmium, and perhaps mercury to rats in trace quantities can cause a mild to marked elevation of blood pressure which has been associated with increased mortality. This metal-induced hypertension in animals resembles essential hypertension in man in that there are no other evidences of metal exposure, and it raises the possibility that some clinical hypertension might be related to inapparent metal exposure which in turn might be a function of water hardness.     

5岁以下儿童死亡家庭社会环境调查分析

目的以十堰市2011-2013年5岁以下儿童死亡上报信息为基础,对其家庭背景中的社会关系和家庭结构进行普遍调查,分析探索降低5岁以下儿童死亡率的有效途径。方法调查对象为5岁以下死亡儿童家庭以及居住地邻居有健康儿童家庭。选择不同地理环境的十堰市城区及偏远山区县竹溪县,调查儿童家庭主要家庭成员间以及现居住地邻居间相处和谐情况以及家庭结构信息情况。结果 5岁以下死亡儿童竹溪县51例,城区为54例。家庭社会关系主观问卷调查均显示家庭成员间及近邻居间关系满意度,城区与竹溪县无差异。其家庭结构信息显示死亡儿童家庭存在缺陷的比例较高平均20.95%,健康儿童家庭平均10.48%,两者比较差异有统计学意义(P0.05),多胎家庭比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。从母亲孕期保健看,死亡儿童家庭及健康儿童家庭分别只有59.05%和75.24%基本完成孕期保健。结论家庭社会关系的主观问卷调查不能真实反映家庭成员间的和谐关系,家庭存在缺陷的儿童存在较高的死亡率,家庭保健意识还有提高空间,因此,保健服务对存在缺陷的家庭及儿童应该给予特别的关注,避免给社会和家庭带来的伤害。