Abstract
Little is known about poverty trends in people with severe mental illness (SMI) over a long time span, especially under conditions of fast socioeconomic development. This study aims to unravel changes in household poverty levels among people with SMI in a fast-changing rural community in China. Two mental health surveys, using ICD-10, were conducted in the same six townships of Xinjin county, Chengdu, China. A total of 711 and 1042 people with SMI identified in 1994 and 2015, respectively, participated in the study. The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke poverty index was adopted to measure the changes in household poverty. These changes were decomposed into effects of growth and equity using a static decomposition method. Factors associated with household poverty in 1994 and 2015 were examined and compared by regression analyses. The proportion of poor households, as measured by the headcount ratio, increased significantly from 29.8% in 1994 to 39.5% in 2015. Decomposition showed that poverty in households containing people with SMI had worsened because of a redistribution effect. Factors associated with household poverty had also changed during the study period. The patient's age, ability to work and family size were of paramount significance in 2015. This study shows that the levels of poverty faced by households containing people with SMI has become more pressing with China's fast socioeconomic development. It calls for further integration of mental health recovery and targeted antipoverty interventions for people with SMI as a development priority.
Highlights
Little is known about poverty trends in people with severe mental illness (SMI) over a long time span, especially under conditions of fast socioeconomic development
Factors associated with household poverty had changed during the study period
This study shows that the levels of poverty faced by households containing people with SMI has become more pressing with China’s fast socioeconomic development
Summary
Little is known about poverty trends in people with severe mental illness (SMI) over a long time span, especially under conditions of fast socioeconomic development. In the past few decades, China has experienced profound socioeconomic transformation that includes, but is not limited, to rapid economic growth, increased urbanisation and migration, transformed family structure and an enhanced social welfare system. Economic growth is striking, as gross domestic product has increased from 367.9 billion in 1978 to 90 030.9 billion in 2018. Poverty reduction for vulnerable groups such as people with mental illness has become even tougher.[2] Instead of relying further on development, China has stepped into an era of targeted poverty alleviation.[3]
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