Exploring low-income women's welfare stigma through rich point analysis

The project described in this presentation was the final component of my PhD thesis which explored how Centrelink policies mediated social citizenship for low-income women. I first analysed the Centrelink Information Handbook, and then collected ethnographic data through observations and interviews. The first two of my research questions were quite deductive in nature, as I applied Levitas' (1998) conceptual framework of social exclusion to the Centrelink Information Handbook and low-income women's experiences. This third research question, to explore how low-income women's social citizenship was socially and politically mediated, however, required a more unstructured approach.

Discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments : predicting the health and health-related quality of life of children living in low-income, single-parent families

Objective Although the amount and frequency of child support payments received by single parents are often erratic and fluctuate, no study to date has quantitatively explored how the discrepancy between expected and actual payments relates to child health. This study aims to examine whether the discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments predicts a range of child health outcomes, including global health, health-related quality of life, involvement in activities and parental psychological distress.

Methods This study used results from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which included a sample of parents of children aged 4–5 years (n = 4983). The questionnaire was completed by the parent who spent the most time with the child and knew the child best. From the 4983 families, 332 low-income single parents reliant on welfare with a formal or informal child support order in place were identified.

Results After controlling for income, the discrepancy between expected and actual child support predicted school functioning, conduct problems, total mental health problems and involvement in activities. Discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments did not predict the remaining health-related quality of life domains, mental health domains, global child health or parental psychosocial distress.

Conclusion This was the first study to examine how the discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments relates to child health, providing important data on the effectiveness of the child support system for children's well-being. These findings highlight the potential impact of the discrepancy on school functioning, conduct problems, total mental health problems and involvement in activities.

What determines migration flows from low-income to high-income countries? An empirical investigation of Fiji-U.S. migration 1972-2001

This article examines the long-run and short-run determinants of migration from Fiji to the United States between 1972 and 2001 using a human capital framework, which is extended to take account of political instability in Fiji. In the long-run the authors find that differences in income levels, disparities in police strength, disparities in the number of doctors, costs of moving, and political instability in Fiji are all statistically significant with the expected sign. In the short run the cost of moving, lagged migration, political instability, and differences in both police strength and medical care are the main determinants of Fiji-United States immigration.

Not measuring up : low-income women on welfare

The central notion of this chapter is that every person has the right to an elemental standard of social life, as a citizenship entitlement. However, segments of our society, such as women who rely on government payments as their primary source of income, do not enjoy full social citizenship entitlements and are instead socially excluded. Using data from in-depth qualitative interviews, I outline participants’ experiences of stigma, marginalisation and exclusion. I posit that these experiences are the result of policy failure as financial assistance policies fail to fully provide these women with their social citizenship entitlements.

Sustainable living environment for urban low-income households in Malaysia : key factors for maintenance

Urbanisation is predicted to continuously increase every year. Demand for urban shelter will rise and hence this will force governments to act, within their capability, to provide affordable housing in order to maintain social and economic stability. Some industrialized countries have demonstrated full state support from planning and implementation through to continuing maintenance in order to create and sustain a healthy living environment for urban low-in-come households. For developing countries, this might be more difficult. Ensuring adequate maintenance to provide housing quality over the long term is proving even more problematic than simply providing housing. The question is how housing in developing countries can be made sustainable in order to provide a better living environment in the long term. This study focuses on key issues of residential living environments for urban low-cost housing in Malaysia in relation to housing maintenance management. Drawing from extensive primary research and a series of interviews, this exploratory study identifies factors that must be considered by policy makers in order to provide a decent and sustainable living environment for the urban lower-income group. The outcome suggests that current systems of maintenance management - offsetting maintenance to developers or the housing communities themselves, is not working well. The government may need to continue to support low cost housing through maintenance in order to prevent deterioration of accommodation that could become future slums.

The role of agregate demand and supply shocks in a low-income country : evidence from Bangladesh

This paper explores the relative role of aggregate demand and supply shocks in affecting the output level and inflation rate in a low-income country vulnerable to various economic shocks. The study uses Bangladesh data, and following Cover et al (2006), employs a modification of the Blanchard-Quah (BQ) approach, in which the two shocks are allowed to be correlated. Strong evidence is found for the hypothesis that aggregate demand and supply shocks are interrelated in Bangladesh. For the case in which causality is assumed to be running from demand to supply shocks, it was found that an independent supply shock plays significant role for fluctuations in inflation, which was absent in the standard BQ model. The results suggest that a tightening of monetary policy may lead to an adverse effect on the long-run growth potential and some supply-side policies may be required to supplement contractionary monetary policy in combating inflation in Bangladesh.

Smart-phone obesity prevention trial for adolescent boys in low-income communities: the ATLAS RCT

The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Active Teen Leaders Avoiding Screen-time (ATLAS) intervention for adolescent boys, an obesity prevention intervention using smartphone technology.

‘It should be a big responsibility’: Separated low-income mothers’ evaluation of child support arrangements and the conduct of fathers

The Australian Child Support Scheme was established as a means of ensuring adequate financial support for children of separated parents. However, within the financial transfer of child support exist notions of ‘trust’ and ‘fairness’ based on parents navigating their changed relationship post-separation. Previous research has explored the assessment and outcomes of child support for both payee and payer parents, however little attention has been given to how women evaluate the assessment and outcomes of child support. As such, this research aimed to explore payee mothers’ evaluation of their child support experiences based on the value of their child support assessment and the extent to which these payments were received. Following the methods of constructivist grounded theory, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 low-income single mothers. Analysis revealed that payee mothers evaluated child support based on the moral assumptions and the rationalities they perceived were underlying payer fathers’ child support compliance. While payee mothers desired arrangements that reflected joint parental financial responsibility, in reality many experienced problematic child support payments, which may ultimately undermine payee parents’ confidence in the Child Support Scheme.

'Low income doesn't mean stupid and destined for failure': Challenging the deficit discourse around students from low SES backgrounds in higher education

The discourse around students from low socio-economic backgrounds often adopts a deficit conception in which these students are seen as a problem in higher education. In light of recent figures pointing to an increase in the number and proportion of these students participating in higher education [Pitman, T. 2014. "More Students in Higher ed, But it's no more Representative." The Conversation 28: 1-4] and an absence of evidence to support deficit thinking, this deficit discourse requires re-examination. Qualitative data from 115 interviews carried out across 6 Australian universities as part of a national study reveal that, contrary to the conception of these students as a problem, students from low SES backgrounds demonstrate high levels of determination and academic skills and that they actively seek high standards in their studies. This paper critically examines deficit conceptions of these students, drawing on findings from qualitative interviews with 89 successful students from low SES backgrounds and 26 staff members recognised as exemplary in their provision of teaching and support of students from low SES backgrounds. Drawing on these findings, this paper challenges the deficit discourse and argues for a more affirmative and nuanced conception of students from low SES backgrounds.

Older adults' quality of life - exploring the role of the built environment and social cohesion in community-dwelling seniors on low income

The built environment and social cohesion are increasingly recognized as being associated with older adults' quality of life (QoL). However, limited research in this area still exists and the relationship has remained unexplored in the area of Metro Vancouver, Canada. This study examined the association between the built environment and social cohesion with QoL of 160 community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥ 65 years) on low income from Metro Vancouver. Cross-sectional data acquired from the Walk the Talk (WTT) study were used. Health-related QoL (HRQoL) and capability wellbeing were assessed using the EQ-5D-5L and the ICECAP-O, respectively. Measures of the environment comprised the NEWS-A (perceived built environment measure), the Street Smart Walk Score (objective built environment measure), and the SC-5PT (a measure of social cohesion). The primary analysis consists of Tobit regression models to explore the associations between environmental features and HRQoL as well as capability wellbeing. Key findings indicate that after adjusting for covariates, older adults' capability wellbeing was associated with street connectivity and social cohesion, while no statistically significant associations were found between environmental factors and HRQoL. Our results should be considered as hypothesis-generating and need confirmation in a larger longitudinal study.

Does modifying the household food budget predict changes in the healthfulness of purchasing choices among low- and high-income women?

Food cost has a strong influence on food purchases and given that persons of low income often have more limited budgets, healthier foods may be overlooked in favour of more energy-dense lower-cost options. The aim of this study was to investigate whether modifications to the available household food budget led to changes in the healthfulness of food purchasing choices among women of low and high income. A quasi-experimental design was used which included a sample of 74 women (37 low-income women and 37 high-income women) who were selected on the basis of their household income and sent an itemised shopping list in order to calculate their typical weekly household shopping expenditure. The women were also asked to indicate those foods they would add to their list if they were given an additional 25% of their budget to spend on food and those foods they would remove if they were restricted by 25% of their budget. When asked what foods they would add with a larger household food budget, low-income women chose more foods from the ‘healthier’ categories whereas high-income women chose more foods from the less ‘healthier’ categories. However, making the budgets of low- and high-income women more ‘equivalent’ did not eradicate income differences in overall healthfulness of food purchasing choices. This study highlights the importance of cost when making food purchasing choices among low- and high-income groups. Public health strategies aimed at reducing income inequalities in diet might focus on promoting healthy diets that are low cost.

Mind the gap! : A discussion on the disparity between low and high income countries in the provision of mental health care and the implications for capacity building in Kenya’s nursing workforce.

About fourteen per cent of the global burden of disease has been attributed to mental, neurological and substance use disorders. A number of initiatives have been launched in recent years to respond to this, the World Health Organisation (WHO) introduced the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) to address the widening gap between what is needed to provide adequate mental health services and what is currently available, especially in low and middle income countries where the gap is widest.
This discussion paper will focus on mental health nursing in Kenya, a country in East Africa with a population of 42 million people. Mental illness is common in Kenya with up to twenty five per cent prevalence rates, yet mental health services are sparse at the tertiary and primary care level and mental health remains a low budget and policy priority for the government. The aim of this paper is to raise participants’ awareness of the challenges of delivering mental health nursing care in low-income countries such as Kenya, and to explore possible solutions to the problem.