Katz J, West K P, Pradhan E K, LeClerq S C, Khatry S K, Shrestha S Ram
Department of International Health, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205-2103, USA.
Glob Public Health. 2007;2(1):35-52. doi: 10.1080/17441690600682024.
Our primary aim to evaluate the impact of a small steady stream of income on family health and well-being among rural women employed part-time in a health project in Sarlahi district, Nepal. All 870 women applying for the job of distributing nutritional supplements in their villages completed a questionnaire prior to selection for employment, 350 of whom were hired and 520 who were not. A total of 736 women completed a second questionnaire 2 years later, 341 (97.4%) of whom had been continuously employed during this period, and 395 (76.0%) who had never been employed by the project. Changes in health and well-being over 2 years were compared between women who were and were not hired. Women who were hired were younger and better educated, but were similar in other regards. After adjusting for selection differences, employed women were more likely to save cash, buy jewellery, and buy certain discretionary household goods over 2 years than those who were not hired. Expenditures on children's clothing increased more for employed women, and their children were more likely to be in private schools at follow-up, but there was no impact on health and survival of children. Women with a small steady stream of income did improve their personal economic situation by savings and increased expenditures for children and the household. Longer follow-up may reveal impacts on health access and expenditures, although these were not evident in 2 years of employment.
我们的主要目的是评估一小笔稳定收入对尼泊尔萨拉希地区参与一项健康项目的兼职农村妇女家庭健康和幸福的影响。所有870名申请在其村庄分发营养补充剂工作的妇女在被选拔录用前都完成了一份调查问卷，其中350人被录用，520人未被录用。两年后，共有736名妇女完成了第二份调查问卷，其中341人（97.4%）在此期间一直受雇，395人（76.0%）从未受雇于该项目。对被录用和未被录用的妇女在两年内健康和幸福状况的变化进行了比较。被录用的妇女更年轻，受教育程度更高，但在其他方面相似。在调整了选择差异后，与未被录用的妇女相比，受雇妇女在两年内更有可能储蓄现金、购买珠宝和购买某些非必需的家庭用品。受雇妇女在儿童服装上的支出增加更多，且在随访时她们的孩子更有可能就读私立学校，但对儿童的健康和生存没有影响。有一小笔稳定收入的妇女确实通过储蓄以及增加对孩子和家庭的支出改善了个人经济状况。更长时间的随访可能会揭示对医疗服务获取和支出的影响，尽管在两年的工作期间这些影响并不明显。
