The prospective relationship between uptake of earned income tax credit (EITC), financial strain, and health in socio-economically strained families of Arab-American descent.

backgroundThe federal government offers Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to working low and middle-income families. Lack of knowledge and distrust in government results in a large proportion of qualified families not claiming EITC. This is especially true for minority groups, including immigrants. The study objectives were: (1) to examine whether a community derived EITC outreach campaign targeting EITC eligible residents of Arab-American descent in Southeast Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., resulted in increased knowledge of EITC; (2) to study the prospective relationship between EITC knowledge and financial hardship; and (3) to study the relationship between risks (financial hardship) and protective (exercise) factors and self-rated health.

methodsIn 2021, a total of 215 women attending Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) centers in Southeast Detroit, Michigan, were recruited. Participants filled out a survey at baseline, and after 6 and 12 months, respectively. The survey contained questions on sociodemographics, financial stressors, exercise, health, and knowledge of EITC. The 1-year retention rate was 48% (n = 104).

resultsAt baseline, knowledge about EITC was low (mean 1.1 [SE 0.3] on a 0–10 visual analogue scale) but increased significantly during the first six months (2.9 [0.3]; p < .01). Knowledge of EITC was not related to financial hardship ratings. Approximately 38% of respondents worried about not having sufficient funds to pay for rent/mortgage at baseline, and 28% worried about not being able to buy nutritious meals for their families. Worry about paying for meals at the 6-month study mid-point was significantly related to self-rated health at 12 months (p = .013). Self-rated health at 12 months was significantly lower (-0.74; 95% confidence interval − 1.40, − 0.16) among those worrying about paying for meals. The model explained 5.6% (r2 = 0.056) of the variance in self-rated health at 12-months.

conclusionsThe study shows that knowledge about EITC is limited among qualified Arab-American households. A community engaged EITC outreach campaign increased knowledge substantially. Financial strain is related to worsening self-rated health. EITC is an underused bipartisan, pro-employment supported federal program to address near-poverty and poverty among underserved families. Future studies should determine whether EITC outreach campaigns increase the actual uptake of EITC, and whether increased uptake results in improved health.