SynthesisBMC public health2019
The impact of social assistance programs on population health: a systematic review of research in high-income countries.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed.
- A comparison between different models of delivering maternal cash transfers in Myanmar.Health policy and planning · 2024Trial
- Effect of modified income assistance payment schedules on substance use service access: Evidence from an experimental study.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Trial
- Effect of alternative income assistance schedules on drug use and drug-related harm: a randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Public health · 2021Trial
- Trajectories of childhood adversity, social welfare dependence in young adulthood, and the mediating role of mental health problems: a Danish population-based cohort study.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Associations of employment gain, employment loss and prolonged unemployment with depressive symptoms over time among sexual and gender minority adults in the USA: a retrospective cohort study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Socioeconomic disparities in patient-reported outcomes, health literacy, and access to care among patients with primary brain tumors: findings from the All of Us Research Program.Journal of neuro-oncology · 2025Article
- Birth and Early Childhood Outcomes in Families Receiving an Unconditional Prenatal Cash Benefit.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Evaluation of health impacts of a disability-inclusive graduation programme among ultra-poor people with disabilities in Uganda: secondary analysis of a cluster randomized trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Article
- Self-reported, functional, and objective health and sociodemographic characteristics among older adults in Kenya: findings from the pilot longitudinal study of health and ageing in Kenya (LOSHAK).Frontiers in aging · 2025Article
- Strengthening primary health care service competency: a scoping review of challenges, influencing factors, and enhancement strategies.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Social Determinants of Health: Analysis of the Effect of Socio-environmental Factors to Diseases, Injury-related DALYs, and Deaths based on WHO, ILO, and WB Data.Acta medica Philippina · 2025Article
- A Linear Regression Analysis of Factors Affecting Social Determinants of Health Indicators.Acta medica Philippina · 2025Article
- Impact of Alternative Income Assistance Payment Schedules on Health and Social Service Access in Canada: Evidence from an Experimental Study.Journal of social service research · 2025Article
- Is Redistribution Good for Our Health? Examining the Macrocorrelation between Welfare Generosity and Health across EU Nations over the Last 40 Years.Journal of health politics, policy and law · 2024Article
- Health Statuses of People in Poverty Receiving Public Assistance in Japan: A Scoping Review.JMA journal · 2024Article
- No change in substance use disorders or overdose after implementation of state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- Diabetes control in public assistance recipients and free/low-cost medical care program beneficiaries in Japan: a retrospective cross-sectional study.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- A Semantic Approach to Describe Social and Economic Characteristics That Impact Health Outcomes (Social Determinants of Health): Ontology Development Study.Online journal of public health informatics · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSocioeconomic disadvantage is a fundamental cause of morbidity and mortality. One of the most important ways that governments buffer the adverse consequences of socioeconomic disadvantage is through the provision of social assistance. We conducted a systematic review of research examining the health impact of social assistance programs in high-income countries.
methodsWe systematically searched Embase, Medline, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to December 2017 for peer-reviewed studies published in English-language journals. We identified empirical patterns through a qualitative synthesis of the evidence. We also evaluated the empirical rigour of the selected literature.
resultsSeventeen studies met our inclusion criteria. Thirteen descriptive studies rated as weak (n = 7), moderate (n = 4), and strong (n = 2) found that social assistance is associated with adverse health outcomes and that social assistance recipients exhibit worse health outcomes relative to non-recipients. Four experimental and quasi-experimental studies, all rated as strong (n = 4), found that efforts to limit the receipt of social assistance or reduce its generosity (also known as welfare reform) were associated with adverse health trends.
conclusionsEvidence from the existing literature suggests that social assistance programs in high-income countries are failing to maintain the health of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. These findings may in part reflect the influence of residual confounding due to unobserved characteristics that distinguish recipients from non-recipients. They may also indicate that the scope and generosity of existing programs are insufficient to offset the negative health consequences of severe socioeconomic disadvantage.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.