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Evidence summaries

Financial Benefits for Child Health and Well-Being in Low Income or Socially Disadvantaged Families in Developed World Countries

Unconditional financial benefits delivered as an intervention may not be effective at redressing inequalities in children´s health and wellbeing resulting from relative poverty in the short term. Level of evidence: "C"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 9 studies with more than 25 000 subjects. Eight of the nine included studies were welfare reform studies which combined cash incentives (e.g. negative taxation, income supplements) with work support or requirement to work along with other changes to provision of welfare payments. One study was a teenage pregnancy reduction study. Follow-up times were up to 72 months. No effect was observed on child health, measures of child mental health or emotional state. Non-significant effects favouring the intervention group were seen for child cognitive development and educational achievement, and a non-significant effect favouring controls in rates of teenage pregnancy.

Comment: The association between lower income and poorer outcome across all dimensions of child health is strong and consistent across countries and time, and small value interventions with strict conditions attached have not been shown to reverse the pattern of disadvantage for poor groups.

References

  • Lucas PJ, McIntosh K, Petticrew M, Roberts H, Shiell A. Financial benefits for child health and well-being in low income or socially disadvantaged families in developed world countries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2008 Apr 16;(2):CD006358. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords