The hardships of the poorest during the COVID-19 pandemic: Data about the socioeconomic conditions and governance of informal workers.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Martinez L
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8699104 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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The hardships of the poorest during the COVID-19 pandemic: Data about the socioeconomic conditions and governance of informal workers.
Martínez Lina L Young Grame G Trofimoff Valeria V Valencia Isabella I Vidal Nicolás N Espada Andrés David AD Robles Esteban E
Data in brief 20211216
This report presents survey data about the socioeconomic conditions and governance of informal workers in Cali, Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducted with 750 street vendors via telephone, the survey explores eight interrelated topics: demographics, households and children, economic activities, income and expenses, access to financial services and debt, institutional trust, health, and subjective wellbeing. These data are valuable for two reasons. First, they allow for an analysis of ...[more]
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Project description:The deadliest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is taking thousands of lives worldwide and presents an extraordinary challenge to mental resilience. This study assesses mental health status during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors among informal waste workers in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in June 2020 among 176 informal waste workers selected from nine municipalities and one city corporation in Bangladesh. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to assess respondents' mental health. The study found that 80.6% of the individuals were suffering from psychological distress; 67.6% reported anxiety and depression, 92.6% reported social dysfunction, and 19.9% reported loss of confidence. The likelihood of psychological distress (Risk ratio [RR]: 1.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.48) was significantly higher for female than male. Multiple COVID-19 symptoms of the family members (RR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.03-1.41), unawareness about COVID-19 infected neighbor (RR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.04-1.41), income reduction (RR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.06-2.41) and daily household meal reduction (RR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.03-1.73) were also found to be associated with psychological distress. These identified factors should be considered in policy-making and support programs for the informal waste workers to manage the pandemic situation as well as combating COVID-19 related psychological challenges.
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Project description:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to economic contraction and significant restrictions on society. The shock to the economy could lead to a deterioration of physical health outcomes, including dental health. The present study investigated the association between worsened socioeconomic conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and dental pain in Japan. The mediating effects of psychological distress and oral health-related behaviors were also evaluated. Cross-sectional data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey conducted from August to September 2020 (n = 25,482; age range, 15-79 y) were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to evaluate the independent associations of household income reduction, work reduction, and job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic with dental pain within a month. Dental pain was reported by 9.8%. Household income reduction, work reduction, and job loss were independently associated with dental pain after adjusting for confounders (odds ratios: 1.42 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.28-1.57], 1.58 [95% CI, 1.41-1.76], 2.17 [95% CI, 1.64-2.88], respectively). The association related to household income reduction was mediated by psychological distress, postponing dental visits, toothbrushing behavior, and between-meals eating behavior by 21.3% (95% CI, 14.0-31.6), 12.4% (95% CI, 7.2-19.6), 1.5% (95% CI, -0.01 to 4.5), and 9.3% (95% CI, 5.4-15.2), respectively. Our findings showed that worsened socioeconomic conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic deteriorated dental health. Policies that protect income and job loss may reduce dental health problems after the pandemic.
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Project description:BackgroundFood insecurity concerns have featured prominently in the UK response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We assess changes in the prevalence of food-related hardships in the UK population from April to July 2020.MethodWe analysed longitudinal data on food-related hardships for 11,104 respondents from the April-July 2020 waves of the Understanding Society COVID-19 web survey with linked data from the 2017-9 wave of the annual Understanding Society survey. Outcome variables were reports of being hungry but not eating and of being unable to eat healthy and nutritious food in the last week, which were adapted from the Food Insecurity Experience Scale. We used unadjusted estimates to examine changes in population prevalence and logistic regression to assess the association between employment transitions and both outcomes at the individual level.FindingsThe prevalence of reporting an inability to eat healthy or nutritious food rose from 3•2% in April to 16•3% in July 2020. The largest increases in being unable to eat healthy or nutritious food were among Asian respondents, the self-employed, and 35-44-year-olds. The prevalence of being hungry but not eating rose from 3•3% in April to 5•1% in July, with the largest increases observed among unemployed individuals below age 65. Those moving from employment to unemployment had higher odds of being hungry but not eating in the last week relative to furloughed individuals (OR = 2•2; p < 0•05; 95% CI: 1•1 to 4•2) and to the persistently employed (OR = 3•5; p < 0•001; 95% CI: 1•8 to 6•9), adjusting for age, highest qualification in 2017-19, net household income in 2017-19 (equivalized), gender, race/ethnicity, number children at home (aged 0-4, 5-15, and 16-18), cohabitation status, and government office region. Respondents moving from employment to unemployment also had higher odds of reporting an inability to eat healthy and nutritious food relative to furloughed individuals (OR = 1•9; p < 0•05; 95% CI: 1•4 to 3•2) and to the persistently employed (OR = 2•0; p < 0•01; 95% CI: 1•2 to 3•4). No statistically significant differences were found between furloughed individuals and the persistently employed in their probability of reporting either outcome.InterpretationFood-related hardships increased substantially in the UK between April and July 2020, largely driven by reports of an inability to eat healthy and nutritious food. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme appeared to have conferred some protection, but more could have been done to mitigate the problems we describe in obtaining affordable food.FundingDS is funded by the Wellcome Trust investigator award. JK and DS are funded by the European Research Council n. 313590 - HRES. VT is funded by the European Research Council n. 694145- IFAMID.
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Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 resulted in enormous disruption to life around the world. To quell disease spread, governments implemented lockdowns that likely created hardships for households. To improve knowledge of consequences, we examine how the pandemic period was associated with household hardships and assess factors associated with these hardships.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study using quasi-Poisson regression to examine factors associated with household hardships. Data were collected between August and September of 2021 from a random sample of 880 households living within a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) located in the Harari Region and the District of Kersa, both in Eastern Ethiopia.ResultsHaving a head of household with no education, residing in a rural area, larger household size, lower income and/or wealth, and community responses to COVID-19, including lockdowns and travel restrictions, were independently associated with experiencing household hardships.ConclusionsOur results identify characteristics of groups at-risk for household hardships during the pandemic; these findings may inform efforts to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 and future disease outbreaks.
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Project description:Recent transitions in the governance of urban stormwater, specifically developments that leverage the environmental and social benefits of green infrastructure (GI) including infiltration and neighborhood stabilization, often require capacities beyond those of any single municipal- or regional-scale organization. In many cities, transitions toward green stormwater infrastructure have been shepherded by networks of individuals spanning a diversity of organizations from governments to NGOs. These networks are often informal, that is, not established by legal mandate, governing authority, or formal agreement, and are often striking for their lack of formal hierarchy or formal leadership. Previous scholarship has revealed the importance of leadership in the development and efficacy of these multiorganizational, cross-sector environmental governance networks, but research has yet to empirically investigate and characterize informal network leaders within the context of GI for stormwater mitigation. To address this gap, we designed and administered a social network analysis (SNA) survey to individuals in a regional network of GI stormwater management professionals in and around Cleveland, Ohio USA. We collected network data on individual relationships, including collaboration and trust, and tested the impact of these relationships on peer-recognition of leaders in the GI network. Our findings suggest that network size, frequency of collaboration, and individual position within the network-specifically, betweenness centrality and openness-defined and likely supported leaders in the stormwater governance network. Leaders in this non-hierarchical, multi-institution context were more likely to be women and brokerage roles within the network benefitted women, not men, which contrasts with previous findings from research on single-organization and corporate networks. The implications of this research suggest that informal environmental governance networks, such as the GI network investigated, differ substantially from the generally more hierarchical networks of organizations. This finding is useful for municipalities and regional authorities grappling with complex environmental challenges, including transitions in strategies to manage excess stormwater for the protection of municipal drinking water sources and urban freshwater ecosystems.
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Project description:Background/Objectives: Socioeconomic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with lower vaccine uptake. Since the pandemic has exacerbated socioeconomic challenges faced by sexual and gender minority populations, including employment income loss, housing instability, food insufficiency, and household expense difficulty, this study investigated the disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake among these populations. Methods: Using the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,767,966 individuals (6% gay or lesbian, 4.2% bisexual, 1.6% something else, and 90.6% heterosexual respondents), we quantified the COVID-19 vaccine uptakes among sexual and gender minorities, as well as the effect measure modifications by socioeconomic hardships. Results: Despite higher vaccine uptake rates among sexual and gender minorities compared to their heterosexual counterparts, socioeconomic hardships triggered by the pandemic among these populations were associated with decreased vaccine uptake. Importantly, the effect measure modifications by socioeconomic hardships were more pronounced among sexual and gender minority status compared to heterosexual individuals. Conclusions: These results highlight the critical need to address socioeconomic hardships among sexual and gender minorities to enhance vaccine uptake, along with the pre-existing and exacerbated social and economic disadvantages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Project description:Peru has one of the highest informal employment rates in Latin America (73%). Previous studies have shown a higher prevalence of poor self-perceived health (P-SPH) in informal than in formal workers. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of working conditions in the association between informality and SPH in an urban working population in Peru. We conducted a cross-sectional study based on 3098 workers participating in the working conditions survey of Peru 2017. The prevalence of P-SPH and exposure to poor working conditions were calculated separately for formal and informal employment and were stratified by sex. Poisson regression models were used to assess the association between P-SPH and informal employment, with crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) for working conditions. Informal employment affected 76% of women and 66% of men. Informal workers reported higher exposition to poor working conditions than formal workers and reported worse SPH. Informal workers had a higher risk of P-SPH than formal workers: PR 1.38 [95% CI: 1.16-1.64] in women and PR 1.27 [95% CI: 1.08-1.49] in men. Adjustment by working conditions weakened the association in both sexes. In women, this association was only partially explained by worse working conditions; PR 1.23 [95% CI: 1.04-1.46]. Although some of the negative effect of informal employment on workers´ health can be explained by the characteristics of informality per se, such as poverty, a substantial part of this effect can be explained by poor working conditions.
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Project description:BackgroundLimitations of current global health governance revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic can inform the ongoing deliberations of an international treaty on pandemics.ObjectivesTo report on WHO definitions for governance and the enforcement of treaties in the context of a proposed international treaty on pandemics.SourcesThis narrative review was based on keyword searches related to public health, global health governance, and enforcement in PubMed/Medline and Google Scholar. Snowballing for additional articles followed the keyword search review.ContentWHO lacks a consistent definition of global health governance. Moreover, in its current state, the proposed international treaty on pandemics lacks articulated compliance, accountability, or enforcement mechanisms. Findings reveal that humanitarian treaties often fail to achieve their aims absent clear enforcement mechanisms. The proposed international treaty on public health is garnering a range of perspectives. Decision-makers should evaluate whether a globally aligned definition of global health governance is needed. Decision-makers should also consider whether the proposed international treaty on pandemics should be opposed if it lacks sufficiently clear compliance, accountability, and enforcement mechanisms.ImplicationsTo our knowledge, this narrative review is believed to be the first of its kind to search scientific-oriented databases regarding governance and international pandemic treaties. The review includes several findings that advance the literature. These findings, in turn, reveal two key implications for decision-makers. First, whether an aligned definition for governance addressing compliance, accountability, and enforcement mechanisms is needed. Second, whether a draft treaty lacking enforcement mechanisms should be approved.
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