Social Welfare Support Research Articles

Dehumanization of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Groups Decreases Support for Welfare Policies via Perceived Wastefulness

Low-socioeconomic status (SES) groups are sometimes depicted as money wasters who live on welfare. Previous research has also found that low-SES groups are also animalized. We expand previous findings (Sainz et al., 2019) by examining the consequences that animalization has on support for social welfare policies (e.g., unemployment, housing) and governmental control of low-SES groups’ spending. We explored the mediating role of perceived wastefulness (i.e., the perception that low-SES people lack the ability to properly administer their budget) in the relationships between animalization and support for welfare policies and governmental control measures. In three correlation studies, 1a to 1c, we examined the relationships between these variables in three countries: The United Kingdom, the United States, and Spain. From our results, animalizing low-SES groups seem to negatively predict support for public policies and positively predict support for governmental control via the perception that low-SES people are unable to manage their finances. Finally, in two experimental studies, 2a and 2b, we directly manipulated the humanness of a low-SES group (animalized vs. humanized) and measured its effects on perceptions of the group’s wastefulness, support for social welfare policies, and support for governmental control over the group’s expenses. Results indicated that animalizing low-SES groups reduced support for social welfare by activating the impression that low-SES people are poor financial managers (Study 2a), but also that animalizing low-SES groups increased support for governmental control via perceived wastefulness (Studies 2a–b). We discuss the role of animalization in denying aid to those in need.

COVID-19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing possible sociocultural factors that can prolong the pandemic

COVID-19 emerged in the world toward the end of December 2019, with many nations confronted by the reality of the existing poor standard of living, low gross domestic products, and weak health systems, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Several countries within the region launched various public health responses in line with the World Health Organization recommendation in order to curtail the spread of the infection among the populace. These measures include lockdown of country and state borders, physical distancing measures, and more. However, as the testing capacity for the disease increased, it became evident that there has been community spread despite these efforts. Sociocultural and economic factors have been well documented as determinants of health and diseases. The social determinants of diseases illustrate the link between poverty and health outcomes, and in this pandemic, it may not be wrong to suggest that these same factors may play out in determining the spread, severity, and/or containment of the current outbreak in the region. There is a need to understand the sociocultural and economic context of the countries in the region as this might impact the epidemic response effort of the countries. The increasing number of cases recorded is indicative of the SSA region not been spared and the need to urgently look at the peculiarity of the region. Prepandemic underlying poverty with food insecurity in the region and the need for daily income earners to earn a living exposes them to the risk of contracting the disease. Socioeconomic disadvantages heighten vulnerability to illness and diseases; the lack of social welfare and work support in the informal economic sector in most SSA countries makes it very difficult for workers to adhere to recommended measures. Social protection is essential in the response and curtailing of public health emergencies.[[1]],[[2]] The lack of social protection in the phase of economic difficulty occasioned by the pandemic might worsen the spread of COVID-19.

Time away is time out: narratives of intentional reimprisonment amongst inmates living with HIV in a US setting

ABSTRACT There is a growing effort from a range of professionals and institutions to develop comprehensive integrated prison-to-community healthcare, discharge planning, and community re-entry support for inmates living with HIV. This paper draws from ethnographic data to explore the ‘lived experience’ of HIV-positive inmates in a US State prison system offering an integrated case management support programme. In the US, incarceration is critical for connecting socially marginalised people and those with health needs to certain rights and resources. We present the ways in which imprisonment enables a claims-making process against the state by allowing this group access to resources and rights connected to imprisonment, healthcare, and associated social welfare support. Offenders identified incentives underpinning their expressed desire or ‘intention’ to return to prison over time. Our findings suggest that this group of inmates has increased opportunity to access material, medical, and welfare resources when compared to the general inmate population and those outside the prison system. Multiple gaps remain in this group’s sense of security in the community, ability to cope with the stress of everyday life, sustained support with substance dependency and, most importantly, consistent access to medical and welfare resources that enable them to live independently. Ironically, for many inmates living with HIV, incarceration offers a better chance of accessing public health services than living in the community.

Government Measures and Economic Activity during the COVID-19 Outbreak: Some Preliminary Short-Term Evidence from Europe

The coronavIrus Disease 19 (COVID-19) outbreak has resulted in a major worldwide economic depression. Governmental reactions to face the COVID-19 pandemic threat are varied and characterised by diverse intensity. Restrictive measure have been taken to control the pandemic, although the same actions have determined economic fallouts that need to be faced by additional measures of social welfare support. The question concerning the type and the intensity of the governmental actions is still an open issue in the public debate. The present contribution is aimed at offering evidence on the impact of anti-COVID government actions on the volume of trade. Using monthly Eurostat data on 29 European countries, it investigates the relationship between the turnover of volume of sales (the percentage change on previous period) and the adoption of governmental measures. Explanatory variables employed encompass the government response to COVID-19 pandemic as measured by the Oxford University team led by the Blavatnik School of Government, namely, a government response index, a stringency index, a containment and health index and an economic support index. Among control variables used, there is an indicator of consumer confidence. It has been estimated a generalised least squares model, controlling for heteroskedasticity across panels and autocorrelation. The results outlined a positive relationship between consumer confidence and the percentage change of the index of deflated turnover of retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco; a negative relation between restrictive governmental measures; a negative relation between consumer confidence and the percentage change of the index of deflated turnover of retail sale via mail order houses or Internet. Instead, it emerged a positive relation between governmental measures aimed at stringency and the percentage change on previous period of the index of deflated turnover of retail sale via internet. The positive impact on internet retail outlines the growing importance of this channel for trade.

Does Immigration Reduce the Support for Welfare Spending? A Cautionary Tale on Spatial Panel Data Analysis

There has been a long-lasting debate over whether increasing ethnic diversity undermines support for social welfare, and whether this conflict thesis applies not only to the United States, but also to European welfare states. In their 2016 ASR article, Schmidt-Catran and Spies analyzed a panel (1994 to 2010) of regional units in Germany and concluded that this thesis also holds for Germany. We argue that their analysis suffers from misspecification: their model specification assumes parallel time trends in welfare support in all German regions. However, time trends strongly differed between Western and Eastern Germany after reunification. In the 1990s, Eastern Germans’ attitudes adapted to a less interventionist Western welfare system (“Goodbye Lenin effect”). When allowing for heterogeneous time trends, we find no evidence that increasing proportions of foreigners undermine welfare support, or that this association is moderated by economic hardship (high unemployment rates). We conclude with some general suggestions regarding the conceptualization of context effects in spatial analyses.

Household Split, Income, and Migrants’ Life Satisfaction: Social Problems Caused by Rapid Urbanization in China

Household split between rural and urban areas has become an important social issue in China’s urbanization process. This study analysed the influence of household split on migrants’ life satisfaction and the differences between inter- and intra-provincial migrants. Using the data of the 2014 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, we found that the life satisfaction of inter-provincial migrants was significantly lower than that of intra-provincial migrants. For inter-provincial migrants, the life satisfaction of those who moved to the city with underaged children was significantly lower than that of those who left their children in their hometown. Moreover, the life satisfaction of migrants who were concerned about childcare in the hometown was significantly lower than that of those who did not worry about it. Chinese migrants face a dilemma: bringing their family members to the city despite the lack of social welfare support or leaving them in the hometown worrying about family care. We also found that family income does not have a significant moderating effect on the decline in life satisfaction owing to concerns about childcare in the hometown. Future policy concerning China’s population should create external conditions for migrants to accomplish family reunion.

ІНКЛЮЗИВНИЙ ДИЗАЙН ЯК СКЛАДОВА РОЗВИТКУ МІСТ

The article presents theoretical analyze the importance of implementation the concept of inclusive design in urban space; the relevance between the implementation of inclusive design and the quality of life of citizens of the settlement. Inclusive design is design that considers the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference. Increasing the number of elderly people (9,4 mln people over 60 or 22% of the population of Ukraine), people with disabilities (2,6 mln people – 6% of the population), families with young children, pregnant (4 % of the population) makes to the city, its design and infrastructure new challenges. These groups risk becoming effectively excluded from significant parts of city life, suffering marginalisation, exclusion and isolation. Limiting a city's access to just a part of the population while ignoring a significant other part, is economically, socially and politically unsustainable. Inclusive design at the city create the opportunity to guarantee equal access to fundamental rights; improve the quality of life of its population and ensure that everybody - regardless of age, mobility or ability - has equal access to all the resources and pleasures cities have to offer. Inclusive design creates an opportunity to support and create equal living conditions for the most vulnerable groups (people with disabilities, the elderly, families with young children). Implementation the ID to the urban space also support development economical sustainability of the city: increase the level of employment people and reducing unemployment, accordingly increasing the purchasing power of citizens, local business development, increase income to the budget; reduction the level of social exclusion, isolation and therefore increase the degree of independence of the client and the reduction of funds for social welfare and individual support. Creation access to the education facilities will increase the level of education. As the results, better education support better employment and higher salary. Creation accessibility also support of tourism attraction of the city. Creation inclusive design in the urban space support to improve the quality and sustainability of municipal services. Inclusive design ensure involving citizens to the city life.

Characteristics of Social Entrepreneurs and How to Foster Them

The purpose of this study is to find the characteristics that affect social entrepreneurs’ level of social contribution, and what should be done to empower social entrepreneurs with the observed characteristics to fulfill the needs of social welfare in Indonesia. In total, 106 valid units-of-research from a survey with a base response number of 5,620, provided by the GEM report of 2015, are analyzed, using a multiple linear regression method to find the characteristics of the social entrepreneurs. Previous literature is used to provide suggestions for practical implication. Based on the Five Social Entrepreneurial Characteristics, it is found that the only characteristic which significantly affects social entrepreneurs’ level of social contributions is perseverance. To nurture this attribute, social entrepreneurs could be driven to develop active partnerships with NGOs. Active partnerships would make social entrepreneurs develop not only perseverance, but also become more competent in contributing to social issues. This research is very specific for social entrepreneurs in Indonesia, and points to the possibilities of resorting to social entrepreneurs for fulfilling the demand of social welfare support rather than only depending on the government or NGOs. In addition, instead of encouraging the establishment of more social entrepreneurs, this research aims to foster their potential.

Children with Disabilities at Risk of Poor Oral Health in the Republic of Lithuania: A Retrospective Descriptive Service Evaluation

This retrospective service evaluation considers the oral health of children with disabilities in post‐Soviet Lithuania. It identifies that they have extensive dental decay and that the predominant course of dental treatment for children with disabilities is tooth extraction under general anesthetic. There is little in the way of specialist service provision, preventative care, or oral health promotion for this group. This study adds to the literature by identifying and emphasizing the impact on oral health of the sweeping economic and political changes, the move toward deinstitutionalization, and new economic trends such as a market economy. In particular, the lack of social welfare support, high levels of child poverty, poor educational outcomes, and the privatization of the oral health‐care system has served to increase oral health inequity for marginalized groups. The outcome is an increase in oral health inequalities for children with disabilities and an urgent need for policy and reform.

Beyond legacy: Backstage stigmatisation and ‘trickle-up’ politics of urban regeneration

This article explores how stigmatisation is intimately linked with neoliberal governance and capital accumulation in specific ways through processes around the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. It advances the author’s previous research exploring the effects of stigma on the East End community hosting the Games, by looking at some of the processes of power and profit which motivate stigmatising processes by ‘gazing up’, rather than ‘gazing down’. That is, looking at the role of the stigmatisers in this project and not the stigmatised. It draws loosely on Goffman’s concept of ‘backstage’ to shed light on those who produce and profit from these stigmatisation processes, including government bodies and actors and private business interests. Looking at some of the processes through which stigmatisation is profited from reveals not only forms of power vital to this process but that it is a key form of exploitation integral to capital accumulation. Under austerity, the political economy of the Games constitutes state support of private finance and a simultaneous withdrawal of social welfare support, which transfers the burden of debt from the state to the individual and wealth from public funds to private funds.

An empirical study on the growth factors and environmental satisfaction of medical innovative talents in Xinjiang

Objective Though the research on the satisfaction of environment and factors influencing the growth of the talented in medical science in Xinjiang, the author focuses on the shortcomings and reasons of current development of the talented, and provides specific suggestions and improvement for the cultivation of the talented. Methods Using Xinjiang Medical University First Affiliated Hospital as the research object, author investigates the influential factors of growth, and the satisfaction of environment though the questionnaires. Results According to the principal components analysis, the factors which influence the growth the talented in medical science are put in flowing order: political factor>environmental factor>education factor>family factor. According to the data envelopment analysis, in the satisfaction of environment of hospital technological innovation, the talented in hospital technological innovation consider that the cultivation plan, research expenses, support for scientific research, recruitment, and social welfare are at a better satisfaction rate; but the duration of academic research, income policies, selection of the talented, and the outcome of the research are at a low satisfaction rate. Conclusions Based on the current development and cultivation of the talented in the innovation of medical science, there are still many shortcomings. Hospital must continue international cooperation, insist to do the cultivation of the talented and the innovation team, and complete the selection mechanisms, in order to give enough time for the scientific research, and create a good atmosphere of medical science innovation at the same time. Only when the services for the talented are well-prepared, Xinjiang medical science innovation can achieve enough support and motivation for the development of the talented. Key words: Medical science; Scientific talents; Satisfaction

Do institutions matter? The interplay between income benefit design, popular perceptions, and the social legitimacy of targeted welfare

A recurring theme in welfare state research is that public support for social welfare is related to the institutional design of welfare policies. However, strong empirical evidence for the institutional embeddedness of welfare attitudes has been lacking to date, and the underlying theoretical mechanisms remain underexplored. This article diverges from the widespread macro-perspective of welfare regime theory, by shifting the focus of its analysis from countries to income benefit schemes within the heterogeneous welfare context of the Netherlands. Based on the 2006 Welfare Opinions Survey, results show that the institutional design of three differently organized benefit schemes (the people’s pension, workers’ unemployment insurance and social assistance) is meaningfully related to popular perceptions of self-interest, programme performance and welfare deservingness. These intermediate perceptions, in turn, appear to have a significant impact on the social legitimacy of welfare allocation to the target groups of the schemes: pensioners, unemployed people and social assistance recipients.

Assessment of Intellectual Functioning among Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Challenges and Implications Beyond the Clinical Practice

Early and precise identification of neurodevelopmental disorders together with provision of adequate and timely interventions remain increasingly important tasks for multidisciplinary clinical teams. А central component in this process of comprehensive clinical evaluation is the assessment of children’s intellectual functioning. Intelligence test results represent a central component in the decision making process of determining a child’s future in terms of: qualification for special education, access to social welfare support, placement in therapeutic programs, etc. Clinical results yielded through the application of standardized intelligence assessment instruments (WISC, K-ABC, RPM), and especially the overall quantitative measure of cognitive ability (IQ) have become a central, and sometimes the only measure taken into consideration when determining a child’s level of functioning. Together with some distinct benefits, this practice places many children at risk of being underestimated and calls for revision and modification of standard assessment procedures. In line with these considerations, authors raise for discussion traditional approaches to diagnostics of intellectual functioning, highlighting some challenges, emerging from the constitutive particularities in the cognitive functioning of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. An attempt for identifying areas for further improvement alongside with research-informed recommendations for a contemporary, individualized and sensitive to the specifications of children with neurodevelopmental disorders assessment practice are outlined at the end of this paper. According to the authors’ opinion, exploration of the topic provides an important opportunity to advance the understanding of clinicians, primary healthcare professionals, educators and other professionals involved in supporting children with developmental deficits.

Need, Compassion, and Support for Social Welfare

Funding for social welfare depends on citizen support. Drawing on evolutionary psychological approaches to politics, we study two types of need that might shape citizens' welfare support by regulating their feelings of compassion. One type of need is a recipient's absolute need. The other type is acute need created by sudden misfortune, such as sudden job loss. Across four studies, we find that absolute and acute needs independently affect compassion and welfare attitudes. This leads to potential inefficiencies in judgments: People who have fallen far are judged more deserving of compassion and access to welfare even when they are not in an absolute sense the most impoverished.

Social independence of adult congenital heart disease patients in Japan.

As treatment outcomes for congenital heart disease (CHD) have improved, the social independence of adult CHD patients has become a key goal. The aims of this study were therefore to (i) determine the relationship between social independence and psychological profile, and (ii) identify patient anxieties, difficulties, and demands related to life in society. A total of 143 patients aged ≥15years with physical disability certificates were selected using a questionnaire distributed by a patients' association. Each participant was asked about employment status, income, and receipt of disability pension as a social independence index, and about financial and psychological distress as a psychological status index. Furthermore, each participant was asked to freely describe his or her difficulties, anxieties, and needs pertaining to life in society. The subjects were 15-73years old. Seventy-one (50%) were female, and 94 (66%) had a grade 1 physical disability certificate. Fifty-nine subjects (41%) were employed, 37 (26%) were unemployed, and 45 (31%) were students. Of those employed, 34 subjects (58%) reported annual individual income ≤2 million yen. Frequent hospital visits, low total household income, low individual annual income, work dissatisfaction, and receipt of a disability pension were associated with poorer psychological profile. In an open description section, subjects expressed desires for better pension systems, support for medical fees, and employment support. Because financial issues can adversely affect the psychological profiles of adult CHD patients, enhancement of social welfare and employment support may improve their social independence.

Stances on Assisted Suicide by Health and Social Care Professionals Working With Older Persons in Switzerland

This qualitative study investigated the personal and professional stances of 40 health and social care professionals confronted with assisted suicide of older persons living in nursing homes or supported by social welfare or home care and support services in French-speaking Switzerland. Requests of assisted suicide triggered questions with regard to the professional mission, the quality of accompaniment, values, and ethical principles. Four types of stances emerged from the analysis performed according to the principles of the grounded theory: favorable in principle, professional compromise, personal compromise, and opposed in principle. Each stance results from the combination of several dimensions: personal or professional concordance or compatibility with assisted suicide; implication in, and impact of, the process; appreciation of the process; and satisfaction with the resources at disposal. The differentiated stances adopted by professionals depend largely on their way of interpreting their mission, deontology, and the relationship to the older person.

Envisioning Religiously Diverse Partnership Systems among Government, Faith Communities and FBOs

Recent U.S. policy regarding faith-based organizations (FBO) envisions “partnerships with government” that include both financial and non-financial relationships. This paper explores the current nature of a three-way partnership among faith communities, FBOs and government, proposing ways that government could more effectively partner with faith communities and their organizations. I use data from the Faith and Organizations Project and earlier studies of refugee resettlement and social welfare supports. The paper combines research and policy literature with research findings to describe how faith communities organize social services, education, health, senior services and community development through their FBOs, differences among religions and denominations and current forms of partnerships with government. Conclusions provide policy suggestions for U.S. systems.

Social inequalities in reception of social welfare support: A population based twin study

Social welfare support runs in families. Recent studies using Nordic registry data have found individualdifferences in genetic factors to be of substantial importance for medical benefits. However, to date there hasbeen no genetically informative studies on receiving social welfare support. To prevent young adults to notdrop out of the work life and become recipients of social welfare support, it is of substantial interest toclarify to what extent the familiarity of social welfare support is due to genetic or social differences betweenfamilies. We used data from the Historical-Event Database on 7,698 Norwegian twins born 1967-1979 toestimate the relative contribution of genetic factors, the effective familial environment (i.e. the “sharedenvironment”), and individual-specific environmental factors. We found that the two forms of familial risk,genetic and shared environmental, explained 39% and 45%, respectively, of the risk for receiving socialwelfare support among young Norwegian twins. Only 17% of the variance in risk factors could be explainedby individual-specific risk factors. It appears that risk for receiving social welfare support can to a greatextent be explained by environmental differences between families. Therefore prevention strategies targetingsocial inequalities between families would indeed be effective. Furthermore, genetic risk factors are alsoimportant in explaining risk for receiving social welfare support. These effects could be mediated throughheritable traits related to substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, and personality. Individual-specific risk factorswere of very little importance. Hence, with regard to receiving social welfare support, family matters.

Coping with the economic burden of Diabetes, TB and co-prevalence: evidence from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

BackgroundThe increasing number of patients co-affected with Diabetes and TB may place individuals with low socio-economic status at particular risk of persistent poverty. Kyrgyz health sector reforms aim at reducing this burden, with the provision of essential health services free at the point of use through a State-Guaranteed Benefit Package (SGBP). However, despite a declining trend in out-of-pocket expenditure, there is still a considerable funding gap in the SGBP. Using data from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, this study aims to explore how households cope with the economic burden of Diabetes, TB and co-prevalence.MethodsThis study uses cross-sectional data collected in 2010 from Diabetes and TB patients in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Quantitative questionnaires were administered to 309 individuals capturing information on patients’ socioeconomic status and a range of coping strategies. Coarsened exact matching (CEM) is used to generate socio-economically balanced patient groups. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression are used for data analysis.ResultsTB patients are much younger than Diabetes and co-affected patients. Old age affects not only the health of the patients, but also the patient’s socio-economic context. TB patients are more likely to be employed and to have higher incomes while Diabetes patients are more likely to be retired. Co-affected patients, despite being in the same age group as Diabetes patients, are less likely to receive pensions but often earn income in informal arrangements. Out-of-pocket (OOP) payments are higher for Diabetes care than for TB care. Diabetes patients cope with the economic burden by using social welfare support. TB patients are most often in a position to draw on income or savings. Co-affected patients are less likely to receive social welfare support than Diabetes patients. Catastrophic health spending is more likely in Diabetes and co-affected patients than in TB patients.ConclusionsThis study shows that while OOP are moderate for TB affected patients, there are severe consequences for Diabetes affected patients. As a result of the underfunding of the SGBP, Diabetes and co-affected patients are challenged by OOP. Especially those who belong to lower socio-economic groups are challenged in coping with the economic burden.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1369-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Evaluation of corporate social responsibility activities for fashion company's sustainable management- On the moderating effects of consumers’ perceived fit and motivation -

The social responsibility of fashion companies has become a crucial factor considering company image and awareness. Businesses have thus increased their CSR activities. However, few studies have shown clear and consistent results regarding the effectiveness of CSR activities. Therefore, this study focuses on the evaluation of the direct effect of CSR on trust and corporate reputation including its moderation by consumer's perceived fit and motivation. A total of 284 completed questionnaires were obtained from adult consumers in the fashion market with promotional leaflets for CSR activities as stimuli. The results were as follows. First, the dimensions for CSR activities were categorized as follows: Social welfare responsibility, environment protection, economic responsibility, social regulation compliance, customer protection, and culture and arts support. Further social regulation compliance, and economic and social welfare responsibilities positively affected corporate trust and reputation. Second, the main effect of perceived CSR activities and fit on corporate trust and reputation was significant, and the interaction effects of the social welfare, environment protection, and culture and arts support of CSR activities and fit were significant. Finally, the interaction effect of perceived CSR activities and motivation on corporate trust and reputation was not significant, but the main effect was significant. Implications of how to manage and enhance the effectiveness of CSR activities are offered.