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To What Extent Does Poor Health Precede Welfare?

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Abstract

Background

It is well known that individuals receiving social assistance have more health problems than those with higher incomes. In this paper, we estimate the proportion of social assistance recipients who were on welfare following a drop in health status.

Methods

The study population consisted of Saskatchewan adults who had been continuously off social assistance for 12 consecutive months followed by 6 months on social assistance. Health status was measured by the use of physician services. We examined changes in physician service rates during the 18-month period.

Results

Forty-nine percent of individuals in the study population had increases in the number of physician services over the 18-month period. For these individuals, 53% of the increase in service use occurred during the 12 months prior to receiving social assistance.

Conclusions

Deteriorating health, as measured by increased physician service use, seems to be one factor that precedes many people’s receipt of welfare. A focus on improving health status may be one way to keep people off welfare.

Résmé

Contexte

On sait que les bénéficiaires de l’aide sociale ont davantage de problèmes de santé que les personnes dont les revenus sont plus élevés. Dans cet article, nous avons estimé la proportion de bénéficiaires qui ont touché des prestations sociales après une aggravation de leur état de santé.

Méthode

La population à l’étude se composait d’adultes de la Saskatchewan n’ayant touché aucune prestation sociale pendant 12 mois consécutifs, puis ayant reçu des prestations pendant 6 mois. Nous avons mesuré leur état de santé d’après leurs visites chez le médecin, en examinant les changements dans les taux de visite sur une période de 18 mois.

Résultats

Quarante-neuf p. cent des sujets de la population à l’étude avaient eu recours plus souvent aux services d’un médecin sur l’ensemble de la période de 18 mois. Pour ces personnes, 53 % de l’utilisation accrue des services avait eu lieu au cours des 12 mois précédant leur entrée dans les rangs des assistés sociaux.

Conclusions

La détérioration de la santé, mesurée selon l’utilisation accrue des services d’un médecin, semble être un facteur qui précède le recours à l’aide sociale pour beaucoup de gens. Les mesures pour améliorer l’état de santé pourraient donc être un moyen d’aider les gens à ne pas dépendre de l’aide sociale.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. EcoTech Research Ltd., 2054 Broad Street, Regina, SK, S4P 1Y3, Canada

    Evan Morris MSc

  2. Saskatchewan Department of Community Resources and Employment (SDCRE), Canada

    David Rosenbluth PhD (Research Director)

  3. SDCRE, Canada

    Doug Scott MA

  4. Saskatchewan Health, Canada

    Trish Livingstone MA

  5. Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Canada

    Lisa Lix PhD

  6. Saskatchewan Learning, Canada

    Mary McNutt MSc

  7. Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, Canada

    Felecia Watson MSc

Authors
  1. Evan Morris MSc
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  2. David Rosenbluth PhD
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  3. Doug Scott MA
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  4. Trish Livingstone MA
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  5. Lisa Lix PhD
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  6. Mary McNutt MSc
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  7. Felecia Watson MSc
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Evan Morris MSc.

Additional information

Sources of support: This project was supported by a financial contribution from the Health Transition Fund, Health Canada, and with data, office and computer facilities contributed by Saskatchewan Health and Saskatchewan Social Services. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the official policy of the federal or provincial governments.

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Morris, E., Rosenbluth, D., Scott, D. et al. To What Extent Does Poor Health Precede Welfare?. Can J Public Health 96, 201–205 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03403691

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03403691

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