Self-Criticism in In-Work Poverty: The Mediating Role of Social Support in the Era of Flexibility

In-work poverty reflects situations of income below the poverty threshold among employed people, involving a deterioration of wellbeing. The International Labour Organization prioritises this situation, which in countries such as Spain, Germany or Italy reaches rates of 11.8%, 10.6% and 11.8%, respectively. Within a context of flexibility, the occupational situation tends to be understood as an individual responsibility, which is why this study analyses the increase in self-criticism in these situations, and the role of social support in this relationship. The mediation of social support in the manifestation of self-criticism among people experiencing in-work poverty is analysed. The participants were 1430 employed people, grouped into those in a situation of poverty and those who are not. The results show that people in a situation of in-work poverty present a higher score in self-criticism and lower in social support. Social support is a mediating variable that prevents the manifestation of self-criticism. Lastly, a gender analysis shows that women experience this relationship more intensely. These findings enable a critical assessment of the activation policies that only take an individual approach. As an alternative, we propose strengthening interventions that foster social support, particularly among women.

Factors Linking Declining Reef Health Ecosystem to Poverty in Lagonoy Gulf, Eastern Bicol, Philippines

This paper provided likely linkage between poverty and reef health status in Lagonoy Gulf. It showed that fishers are poor as reflected by their weekly income ranging from PhP 2,500.00 to <500.00 averaging PhP 1,214.00 which is way below the PhP 3,596 week-1 poverty threshold for Bicol Region. Population density in coastal municipalities is highest in Albay with 512 ind. km-2 and least in Catanduanes with 325 ind. km-2. Fishers are relatively ageing with mean age of 48 years and average fishing experience of 29 years. Majority only reached or finished primary level, and only 6% reached college. Five out of six do not own boat and gears, showing financial incapacity. Hook and lines were used by 66% of the fishers while, nets comprised 32%. Living coral cover declined from 1993 to 2018 by almost 25%. High dependence to coastal resources, high demand for seafood, destructive gears, lack of supplemental sources of income, low educational background, lack of skills, low income are identified contributory factors to habitat degradation. With the declining reef health and fish catch, fishers that are living below poverty threshold are more likely to become poorer because the reef’s capacity to provide goods and services is lost.

Financial Changes and Health During COVID-19 in the National Health and Aging Trends Study

This study tested associations between income decline and financial difficulty with mental health (lack of feeling anxious/depressed, recurring thoughts/nightmares, avoiding activities/thoughts, feeling jumpy/on guard) and sleep quality during COVID-19 among a national sample of 3,188 older adults. Approximately 8% of US older adults reported income decline and 6% reported financial difficulty. Although income decline and financial difficulty rates were both statistically significantly higher among those financially strained before COVID-19 (19% and 34%, respectively), income decline was more common among those with incomes ≥200% of the poverty threshold (9%) whereas financial difficulty was more common among those with incomes &lt;200% poverty (10%). Adjusting for sociodemographic, health and depressive symptoms before COVID-19, financial difficulty was associated with worse mental health (b= -2.39, p&lt;0.001) and sleep quality (b=-0.820, p&lt;0.001), but income loss was not (b= -0.685, p=0.092 and b= -0.405, p=0.082, respectively). Timely interventions are needed for older adults reporting COVID-19 financial difficulty.

Opportunity and inequality in the emerging esports labor market

Esports is often described as a growing industry ripe with financial opportunities for young professional, competitive gamers. However, these claims rarely consider how income is distributed amongst players. This study uses prize earnings data from 2005 to 2019 to examine labor market inequality and related social inequalities and social stratifications. Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients show that inequality has increased in the labor market overall and the labor markets for the five top games based on total prizes awarded ( Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, League of Legends, StarCraft II). Competitors can expect to earn more today than in 2005, but median incomes have shown sporadic and inconsistent growth compared with top incomes. Moreover, most competitors earn less than the US poverty threshold. Comparing the earnings of the top female players to the whole labor market shows that gender inequalities exist in median incomes and the likelihood of earning more than the poverty threshold. The esports labor market is an engine of inequality that provides opportunities for a few (primarily male) competitors while building a growing class of lowly paid players who support the interests of game designers and event organizers.

Quantifying Inequality: From Contentious Politics to the Dream of an Indifferent Power

The historical meaning of inequality as a bond of domination and subjection at the centre of the vertical political architecture of modernity has been replaced by reference to quantitatively expressed distributive differences. This paper examines the role of the poverty threshold in reconfiguring the welfare field and establishing a binary syntax; the spread of spatial artefacts inscribing unequal positions into space through separation; and numbers that provide the language for measuring the distance between positions. Quantification matters in instrumental and expressive terms: together with tools for knowledge and action, it also provides visions. Further, the vision expressed in the quantified distance that frames inequality corresponds to the dream of a domination free from any bond with the dominated, being cognitively and morally indifferent to it.

The Role of Government-Funded Assistance Programs on HIV Testing Among Poor U.S. Adults

Government-funded assistance program enrollment may play an important role in the overall increase of HIV testing among low-income U.S. adults. We pooled data from the 2016–2018 National Health Interview Survey and limited analyses to respondents aged 18 to 64 years with incomes less than 100% of the U.S. poverty threshold ( N = 9,497). The outcome of interest was ever testing for HIV. Prevalence ratios were used to assess the likelihood of ever testing for HIV and were adjusted for sociodemographic covariates including whether the respondent was a beneficiary of any government-funded assistance programs (e.g., Medicaid; job-placement/training/human services; or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). After adjusting for significant sociodemographic covariates, government-funded assistance beneficiaries were significantly more likely to ever test for HIV (adjusted prevalence ratio = 1.3; 95% CI = [1.2, 1.4], p < .0001) than adults with incomes less than 100% of the U.S. poverty threshold who did not receive government assistance. Beneficiaries of government-funded assistance programs are more likely to test for HIV.

The peculiar patterns of age-specific at-risk-of-poverty rates: An analysis of poverty trends in 30 European countries

The EU’s at-risk-of-poverty threshold is set at 60% of national median disposable equivalent income. Changes in median income therefore shift the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, which is likely to affect at-risk-of-poverty rates for some population subgroups more than for others. However, there is only scarce research on how the choice of poverty threshold affects the overall picture of poverty trends. This study aims to find out whether there are typical patterns related to changes in age-specific at-risk-of-poverty rates. This is done by analysing how the size and direction of changes in at-risk-of-poverty rates vary between age groups. Furthermore, the aim is to establish how changes in age-specific at-risk-of-poverty rates are associated with changes in poverty thresholds, income and employment. The study uses EU-SILC microdata and focuses on the development of poverty rates in 30 European countries in the mid-2010s. The results show that, on average, older age groups have experienced larger changes in at-risk-of-poverty rates than children or the working-age population. The increases or decreases in old-age at-risk-of-poverty rates are typically in an opposite direction to those seen in working-age poverty. Furthermore, different poverty thresholds can give a different picture of poverty trends, especially for the older population. Lastly, increases in the employment rate and income tend to be associated with decreases in child and working-age poverty, but even an opposite pattern can be found for old-age poverty. Overall, the findings imply that especially for short periods of time, caution is warranted when drawing conclusions about changes in old-age at-risk-of-poverty rates.

Current Intake of Ultra-Processed Foods in the U.S. Adult Population According to Education-Level and Income

Objectives Ultra-processed food have been associated with multiple chronic diseases, yet recent data regarding its consumption in the U.S. and potential differences in intake across population groups is lacking. We determined the intake of ultra-processed food across diverse socioeconomic strata in the U.S. adult population. Methods We performed cross-sectional analysis of dietary intake among adults (&gt;20y, N = 9759) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015–2018. Data on dietary intake was collected by 24h dietary recall. Foods were classified as ultra-processed/non ultra-processed according to the NOVA classification. We determined intake of ultra-processed food (%kcal) in the overall sample, and stratified by education (&lt;high school, high school degree, some college, college graduate of above) and family poverty income ratio, (&lt;130%, 130–349% and ≥ 350% of the federal poverty threshold). Multivariable linear regression was used to assess if education and income were independent predictors of ultra-processed food intake, controlling for age, sex and race/ethnicity. Results Ultra-processed foods provided 54% of energy among U.S. adults in 2015–2018. Compared to adults without a high school degree (52%kcal), high school graduates and adults with some college education consumed significantly more ultra-processed foods (57% kcal, P = 0.022 and 57.0% kcal, P = 0.009, resp.), while college graduates consumed significantly less ultra-processed foods (49% kcal, P &lt; 0.001). Adults with a family income of 130–349% of the federal poverty threshold consumed significantly more ultra-processed foods than adults with the lowest family income (56 vs. 54% kcal, P = 0.009). However, intake did not differ significantly between adults with low and high income (52% kcal, P = 0.817). Conclusions This study uniquely describes ultra-processed food consumption across socioeconomic groups in the U.S. population and may inform policies and intervention to reduce intakes of ultra-processed foods and prevent chronic disease outcomes. Although consumption differed across education- and income levels, ultra-processed food intake is high in all socioeconomic strata. Our results highlight the need for public health efforts to reduce ultra-processed food consumption in the U.S. Funding Sources None.

Pharmacoeconomics in Africa: needs, prospect and challenges

Africa as a continent has experienced a continuous increase in the cost of healthcare as its demands increase. With many of these African countries living below the poverty threshold, Africans continue to die from preventable and curable diseases. Population increases have led to an increase in demands for healthcare, which unfortunately have been met with inequitable distribution of drugs. Hence, the outcomes from healthcare interventions are frequently not maximized. These problems notably call for some economic principles and policies to guide medication selection, procurement, or donation for population prioritization or health insurance. Pharmacoeconomics drives efficient use of scarce or limited resources to maximize healthcare benefits and reduce costs. It also brings to play tools that rate therapy choice based on the quality of life added to the patient after a choice of intervention was made over an alternative. In this paper, we commented on the needs, prospect, and challenges of pharmacoeconomics in Africa.

Stress as a predictor of tumor growth and development of metastases.

e24124 Background: The aims of this study were to examine; the predictors of perceived stress; and the associations between perceived stress and tumor growth and development of metastases as well as the mediational role of inflammatory biomarkers. Methods: This study is prospective in design. A battery of questionnaires, including a sociodemographic characteristic and the Perceived Stress Scale, was collected at baseline from patients diagnosed with solid tumors at various stages of treatment. Disease progression was measured over a 12-month period. Poverty threshold was determined using the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2020 poverty guidelines. Computerized tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans were assessed for disease progression between baseline and 12 months using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Blood was collected and serum levels of IL-2, IL-1a, IL-1b, TNF-a, IL-6, and IL-8 were assessed. The predictors of stress include sociodemographic and disease specific characteristics. Primary outcomes were tumor growth and development of metastases. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and ordinal and linear regression were performed to assess the aims. Results: Of 159 patients diagnosed with cancer, 47.8% were male, mean age was 62.97 (SD = 10.35), 89.3% were Caucasian, and 13.8% met poverty guidelines. Significant predictors of stress were age (b=-.151, p=0.029, 95% C.I.=-2.86-.016) and income below the poverty threshold (b= 5.615, p=0.007, 95% C.I.=1.596-9.635). Gender was the only sociodemographic and disease specific factor significantly associated with disease progression. After adjusting for gender, greater perceived stress was associated with tumor growth and development of metastases (p =0.029), accounting for 33.3% of the variance. Circulating cytokines were significantly related to disease progression [IL-1a, p=0.020; IL-1b, p=0.011; IL-6, p<0.001; and IL-8, p<0.001] but not stress [IL-1a, p=0.369; IL-1b p=0.292; IL-2, p=0.470; IL6 p=0.406; and IL8, p=0.401]. Conclusions: Future research should evaluate inflammation in the tumor microenvironment as well as neutrophils and tumor suppressor genes as potential mediators between stress and disease progression.