HLTH: Week 3 -Poverty, Housing Insecurity, & Health

Why is poverty considered a major health issue?

poverty limits access to resources needed for physical and mental health

How does poverty affect mortality

People living in poverty have higher risks of disease and premature health

How can income affect health? What does spending 50%+ of income on housing cause?

Income affects access to food, housing, healthcare, education, and safe environments.

It leaves less money for food, clothing, utilities, medication, and other needs.

What is the key idea behind “poverty is a disease”?

Poverty can be viewed as preventable, treatable, and potentially curable because it has identifiable causes, negatively affects health, and can be addressed through social policies and support programs.

What does epidemiology study?

how diseases or health conditions are distributed across populations

What is incidence

the number of new cases occurring during a specific period

What is prevalence?

The total number of existing cases in a population.

What is etiology?

The cause or origin of a disease or health condition.

What is pathophysiology?

How a disease changes the body's normal functioning.

What does VITAMIN D help classify?

The major categories of disease causes, helping health professionals identify and diagnose diseases.

Key idea: VITAMIN D is a mnemonic used to remember different causes of disease, such as

Vascular, Infectious, Traumatic, Autoimmune, Metabolic, and Neoplastic conditions.

What makes poverty harmful to health?

Being in poverty means not having resources needed to maintain good health.

Material deprivation, chronic stress, and difficulty making healthy choices.

Why isn't treating individual illnesses enough to solve poverty?

Illnesses are effects of poverty; treating them doesn't remove poverty's causes.

What is Lisa’s story and why is she relevant ?

Lisa was someone who struggled with poverty, housing insecurity, and health issues. She was always in and out of hospitals getting treatments for multiple diseases getting treatment but then getting back into drugs again and again. When she was diagnosed with cancer it gave her a realization that she had to decide to fight it and it kicked her into gear allowing for her to have more motivation to recover.

What was Mincome?

Mincome (Minimum Income) was a Canadian government experiment conducted in Manitoba to see whether providing low-income families with a guaranteed minimum income could reduce poverty and improve quality of life.

How did it work?

• Low-income families received money from the government to help meet basic needs.

• As families earned more money from working, their government payments gradually decreased.

• The goal was to reduce poverty while still encouraging employment.

What were the results?

• Better health: Hospitalizations decreased by approximately 8.5% in Dauphin, Manitoba.

• Better education: More teenagers stayed in school.

• Employment: Most participants continued working, although some reduced their working hours.

• Less financial stress: Families had greater income security

What is amortization? and How could amortization apply to social programs?

Amortization: Spreading the cost of something over a longer period of time rather than paying for it all at once.

How does amortization apply to social programs?

The costs of social programs can be viewed as long-term investments, where spending money now can reduce future costs.

Example: Investing in affordable housing or poverty prevention today may reduce future government spending on health care, homelessness, and emergency services.

What is the problems with full-time work while living in poverty? What is a key problem about low income jobs?

Having a job doesn't guarantee enough income for basic healthy living.

Many jobs may not exist long-term because of technological change.

Low income jobs pay just enough to disqualify people from benefit programs but doesn’t pay enough for basic needs + you need childcare/transportation - making people not want to work and stay in poverty

What is the main difference between treating poverty and its effects?

Treating Poverty: Addresses the root causes of poverty, such as low income, unemployment, and lack of affordable housing.

Treating the Effects of Poverty: Addresses the consequences of poverty, such as poor health, hunger, and homelessness, without necessarily fixing the underlying causes.

Doctors may prescribe treatments, but these cannot fix the financial conditions causing illness

What supports can help prevent poverty?

Strong labour laws, living wages, healthcare, affordable housing, and childcare

What are “food swamps”?

Areas where unhealthy, processed foods are abundant and easy to access

Why might people have difficulty eating a healthy diet?

Healthy foods may be expensive, unavailable, or difficult to access.

What is the most immediate social determinant discussed in “Hitting Where We Live”?

Housing — the conditions and environment in which a person lives

What is a contentious assertion?

Contentious Assertion: A statement or claim that is debatable or controversial because people have different opinions about whether it is true.

Example (SDoH): “Poverty is a disease” is a contentious assertion because some people agree that poverty should be treated like a disease, while others believe it is primarily a social and economic issue.

What is relative homelessness?

Having housing that is unsafe, overcrowded, inadequate, or below basic standards.

What is an “after-the-fact” approach? and Why can an after-the-fact approach cost more?

Addressing a problem after it occurs instead of preventing it.

Managing things like homelessness and its health effects can cost more than prevention

What does calling homelessness a “palliative diagnosis” suggest?

Calling homelessness a “palliative diagnosis” suggests that society focuses on managing the suffering caused by homelessness rather than addressing its root causes.

Example: Providing temporary shelters helps people experiencing homelessness but does not solve underlying problems like poverty, unaffordable housing, and inequality.

What is the Housing First approach?

Provide permanent housing first, then help address other challenges

Housing first also does not need to be sober, employed, or in treatment first, they can move into a home even if they haven’t quit any of their old habits.

What is CHEP Good Food? What is a Good Food Box?

A Saskatoon organization working to improve access to healthy, affordable food.

A bulk-buying program providing affordable fruits, vegetables, and grains

What is the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)?

A Canadian income supplement providing additional support to eligible seniors.

What is toxic stress?

Extreme poverty can cause biological stress, including elevated stress hormones and changes in biomarkers.

What was the “Special Diet” initiative?

A program that provided extra income to social assistance recipients with specific dietary needs.

Why was food difficult to afford on basic welfare?

After paying rent, some people had less than $1 per day available for food.

What does “prescribing” social supports mean?

Connecting patients with welfare, housing, disability benefits, and tax supports.

How could automation affect employment?

Machines and AI can increasingly perform computations, decisions, and other tasks once done by people.

What is Universal Basic Income (UBI)? How could UBI protect workers from automation? Why might UBI reduce welfare administration?

What is Targeted Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI)?

UBI: Regular, unconditional, untaxed cash payments to every citizen, regardless of employment or wealth. It could provide income when technology eliminates or changes people's jobs. Fewer eligibility assessments and less time spent evaluating people's individual needs. Although, some argue guaranteed income could reduce the incentive to seek or keep a job. Also, people They may be concerned about its cost and fiscal responsibility.

GBI: Regular unconditional payments given to a specific group based on financial or demographic criteria.

What did modern cash-transfer trials show about spending?

Recipients mainly used money for productive needs like food, shelter, and education.

What is Relative Income?

A person's income compared with the income of others in their society.

What is Relative Poverty?

Having significantly fewer resources than what is considered normal in your society.

What is Absolute Poverty?

Not having enough resources to meet basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing

What is Income Inequality?

The unequal distribution of income among people in a population.

What is a Living Wage?

The income needed to afford basic needs and maintain a reasonable standard of living.

What is the Paradox of Poverty?

Paradox of Poverty: The idea that being poor is often more expensive than being wealthy, creating a cycle that makes it difficult for people to escape poverty.

• Higher costs: People with low incomes may have to buy cheaper, lower-quality products that need replacing more often or purchase smaller quantities at higher prices.

• Limited opportunities: Lack of money can make it difficult to access education, reliable transportation, healthy food, and stable housing.

• Cycle of poverty: These extra expenses make it harder to save money, improve living conditions, or escape poverty.

Example: Someone who cannot afford a reliable car may spend more money on transportation over time, making it harder to save for a better vehicle.

What is the Market Basket Measure (MBM)?

A measure of poverty based on the cost of a basket of goods and services needed for a basic standard of living.

What is Psychosocial Comparison?

Comparing your social and economic situation with that of other people.

What is a Philanthropic Economy?

An economy where charities and donations play a major role in helping meet people's needs.

What is Invisible Homelessness?

Homelessness that is not visible because people are temporarily staying with friends/family, couch-surfing, or living in other unstable situations instead of sleeping on the street.

What is Hostile Architecture? What are examples of “hiding” homelessness? Why do areas try to '‘hide” poverty?

The design of public spaces to discourage or prevent certain behaviours, often making it difficult for people experiencing homelessness to rest or sleep there.

removing benches, adding barriers to prevent sleeping, restricting access to public spaces, or moving homeless people away from visible areas

Why do areas try to '‘hide” poverty?

because they are under the thought that if they don’t see it, it doesn’t have to be dealt with.

What is the Welfare trap?

Welfare Trap: A situation where people receiving government financial assistance may find it difficult to escape poverty because earning more money can cause them to lose benefits, sometimes leaving them with little or no financial improvement.

• Loss of benefits: Earning more income may reduce or eliminate government assistance, such as welfare payments or housing subsidies.

• Financial barriers: The costs of working, such as transportation and childcare, may outweigh the extra income earned.

• Cycle of poverty: People may struggle to become financially independent because earning more does not always improve their financial situation.

What is a poverty threshold? and What does “phase out” mean for benefits?

Poverty Threshold: An income level used to determine whether someone is considered to be living in poverty.

How can poverty thresholds negatively affect people?

• Loss of benefits: People earning slightly above certain income limits may not qualify for government assistance.

• Ignores living costs: Some thresholds don't fully reflect how expensive housing, food, and transportation can be.

• Financial struggles: People above the threshold may still struggle to afford basic needs.

• Health inequalities: Lack of financial support can increase stress and make it harder to stay healthy.

Phase Out: When government benefits are gradually reduced as a person's income increases, rather than being taken away all at once.