Ranking the Importance of Dimensions of Poverty with People Living in Poverty

Abstract

This study employed an explanatory sequential design involving quantitative and qualitative methods to highlight the different dimensions of poverty and explain their importance. This study aimed to rank the importance of the dimensions of poverty with people living in poverty participating as co-researchers on an equal footing with academics and practitioners. The quantitative section of the study used a pairwise “pair-wise comparison,” and the qualitative section was a focused-group discussion that provided insights into the findings from the comparison. The comparisons revealed that the different dimensions of poverty have different impacts on people’s lives. While some dimensions shape the experience of poverty more than others, some make life most intolerable, and some have the greatest impact on improving the quality of life if addressed first. This study recommends that poverty be understood and addressed as a multifactor issue. Second, since different dimensions have different impacts on people’s lives and not all dimensions can be addressed at once, they need to be addressed according to their importance.