scholarly journals Public Policies, Women's Employment after Childbearing, and Child Well-Being

Author(s):  
Elizabeth Washbrook ◽  
Christopher J Ruhm ◽  
Jane Waldfogel ◽  
Wen-Jui Han

Abstract In this paper, we consider three U.S. public policies that potentially influence the work decisions of mothers of infants—parental leave laws, exemptions from welfare work requirements, and child care subsidies for low-income families. We estimate the effects of these policies on the timing of work participation after birth, and on a range of outcomes in the subsequent four years, using a group difference-in-difference technique suitable for analysis of cross-sectional data. We find that the three policies affect early maternal work participation, but obtain no evidence of significant consequences for child well-being.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Payge Lindow ◽  
Irene H. Yen ◽  
Mingyu Xiao ◽  
Cindy W. Leung

ABSTRACT Objective: Using an adaption of the Photovoice method, this study explored how food insecurity affected parents’ ability to provide food for their family, their strategies for managing household food insecurity, and the impact of food insecurity on their well-being. Design: Parents submitted photos around their families’ experiences with food insecurity. Afterwards, they completed in-depth, semi-structured interviews about their photos. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for thematic content using the constant comparative method. Setting: San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA. Subjects: 17 parents (14 mothers and 3 fathers) were recruited from a broader qualitative study on understanding the experiences of food insecurity in low-income families. Results: Four themes were identified from the parents’ photos and interviews. First, parents described multiple aspects of their food environment that promoted unhealthy eating behaviors. Second, parents shared strategies they employed to acquire food with limited resources. Third, parents expressed feelings of shame, guilt, and distress resulting from their experience of food insecurity. And finally, parents described treating their children to special foods to cultivate a sense of normalcy. Conclusions: Parents highlighted the external contributors and internal struggles of their experiences of food insecurity. Additional research to understand the experiences of the food-insecure families may help to improve nutrition interventions targeting this structurally vulnerable population.


1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl D'Arcy ◽  
C. M. Siddique

This paper provides a cross-sectional analysis of the physical and emotional well-being of employed and unemployed workers. The data used consists of a sub-sample ( N = 14,313) drawn from the Canada Health Survey's national probability sample ( N = 31,688). The analysis indicates substantial health differences between employed and unemployed individuals. The unemployed showed significantly higher levels of distress, greater short-term and long-term disability, reported a large number of health problems, had been patients more often, and used proportionately more health services. Consistent with these measures, derived from self-reported data, physician-diagnosed measures also indicate a greater vulnerability of unemployed individuals to serious physical ailments such as heart trouble, pain in heart and chest, high blood pressure, spells of faint-dizziness, bone-joint problems and hypertension. While these health differences between the employed and unemployed persisted across socio-economic and demographic conditions, further analysis indicated strong interaction effects of SES and demographic variables on the association of employment status with physical and emotional health. Females and older unemployed individuals reported more health problems and physician visits whereas the younger unemployed (under 40) reported more psychological distress. The blue-collar unemployed were found to be considerably more vulnerable to physical illness whereas the unemployed with professional background reported more psychological distress. The low-income unemployed who were also the principal family earners, were the most psychologically distressed. A regional look at the data showed that the low-income unemployed suffered the most in terms of depressed mood in each region of the country. It is apparent that unemployment and its health impact reflect the wider class-based inequalities of advanced industrial societies. The need for social policies that effectively reduce unemployment and the detrimental impact of unemployment is clear.


2004 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne B Shlay ◽  
Marsha Weinraub ◽  
Michelle Harmon ◽  
Henry Tran

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Iffath Farooqui ◽  
Md Shamsul Islam ◽  
Rahat Amin Chowdhury ◽  
ATM Hasibul Hasan

The sexual assaults and its consequences are increasing along with socioeconomic development of the country. Rise of modern communication technology add fuel to the flame. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the role of communication technology in sexual assaults in Bangladesh. There were 87 victims included in this study. All were female of 6 years to 40 years of age, mean age was 15.67 (± 6.69) year. Most of the victims were below 20 years of age and came from low income families. About 76% mobile used were smart phone. Among them 46% were owned by the victims herself, 26% gifted by the assailants to the victims. Talking through mobile (37%) was the main communication route between the assailants and the victims; followed by direct verbal (31%), mixed verbal and mobile talking (26%) and others (6%). Regarding methods of communication, they only talk in 42% cases and 36% cases used mixed method (talking, SMS and video chatting). The assailant paid all the costs in 62% cases. Mobile phone came as a blessing in communication, but inchoate use makes it a curse to our society. Parents should be cautious about their children's mobile usage (especially smart phone) daily. Government also should make some policy on using mobile technology by the younger citizens. CBMJ 2020 July: Vol. 09 No. 02 P: 03-07


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S583-S583
Author(s):  
Philip A Rozario ◽  
Emily Greenfield ◽  
Nancy Kusmaul

Abstract Social networks provide opportunities for engagement with others and structure the receipt and provision of emotional, instrumental, informational and appraisal support. Indeed scholars in this field have documented the importance of having strong social networks in influencing older adults’ well-being and quality of life. The three papers in this symposium draw on the convoy model of social relations and ecological model to examine and better understand the micro, mezzo, macro contexts that shape and influence how older people engage with and benefit from their networks in three areas: low-income senior housing communities, urban areas specifically targeting older Latinos with dementia, and disaster preparedness in micropolitan counties in eastern Iowa. The first paper, a cross-sectional study focusing on social connections in senior housing communities, examines levels of social networks, engagement, support and loneliness and their relationship with well-being outcomes. The second paper, a community-based participatory research project, reports an intervention that seeks to train natural helpers in a predominantly Latino urban neighborhood to identify and refer older Latinos with dementia to bilingual assessment services. The third paper, synthesizing findings from interventions targeting network building at the individual and state levels as well as a community-based network analysis, presents ways to strengthen networks at the mezzo and macro levels as well as environmental contexts that enable better disaster preparedness for community-based older adults. These papers will consider practice, policy and research implications in strengthening social networks and engagement to optimize older adults’ well-being in various settings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. e6-e6
Author(s):  
Peter Wong ◽  
Rosemary Moodie ◽  
David Dai ◽  
Jonathon Maguire ◽  
Catherine Birken ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Across all demographics, families without consistent access to adequate food place children at health risk. Consequences may persist beyond early life into adulthood. Public policy positions breastfeeding, the ideal nutrition for infants, as an important solution to reducing family food insecurity (FFI). However, few studies have investigated the association between breastfeeding duration and FFI. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the association between total breastfeeding duration and FFI in Canadian urban children. DESIGN/METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted of children aged 0–2 years, from a practice-based child research network. Total breastfeeding duration was collected from parent-reported questionnaires. FFI was measured using 2-item food insecurity and validated 1-item NutriSTEP screens. Multivariable regression analysis was performed adjusting for pre-specified covariates. RESULTS Among 3838 children, the mean total breastfeeding duration was 10.6 months (SD=6.7). Families with food insecurity (14.7%) had increased odds of younger mothers, more males and older and more children. In adjusted model, breastfeeding duration was not associated with FFI (OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.98, 1.01). Low-income families were 9 times more likely to be family food insecure than high-income families (p=0.00). CONCLUSION Contrary to public policy, our study found no association between breastfeeding and family food insecurity (FFI). However, other factors may predominate, in particular family income and structure. Given the detrimental impact of FFI, further research is needed to understand the role of infant feeding practices within the larger political, policy and cultural framework.


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