Bouchelle Zoe, Nelin Timothy D, Salazar Elizabeth, Duncan Andrea F, Parker Margaret G
Department of Pediatrics, Denver Health, Denver, CO, USA.
PolicyLab, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Matern Health Neonatol Perinatol. 2024 Jan 5;10(1):2. doi: 10.1186/s40748-023-00173-1.
To address socioeconomic disparities in the health outcomes of preterm infants, we must move beyond describing these disparities and focus on the development and implementation of interventions that disrupt the factors contributing to them. Unconditional cash transfers (UCTs), which provide unrestricted payments to individuals or households, can help mitigate income disparities and improve health outcomes. While UCTs have been utilized for other vulnerable populations, their full potential has yet to be realized for low-income families with preterm infants, who face significant financial strain. In this perspective, we review evidence supporting UCTs as an intervention for children in the U.S. (including those born term and preterm), discuss the potential benefits of recurring UCTs to low-income families of preterm infants, and propose a conceptual model through which UCTs may improve outcomes for preterm infants. We conclude with potential policy levers for implementing UCTs and key unanswered questions for researchers.
为了解决早产儿健康结果方面的社会经济差异问题，我们必须超越对这些差异的描述，转而关注那些能够打破导致这些差异的因素的干预措施的开发和实施。无条件现金转移（UCTs），即向个人或家庭提供无限制的资金支付，有助于减轻收入差距并改善健康结果。虽然UCTs已被用于其他弱势群体，但对于面临巨大经济压力的低收入早产儿家庭而言，其全部潜力尚未得到发挥。在此观点中，我们回顾了支持UCTs作为美国儿童（包括足月出生和早产的儿童）干预措施的证据，讨论了定期UCTs对低收入早产儿家庭的潜在益处，并提出了一个概念模型，通过该模型UCTs可能改善早产儿的结局。我们最后提出了实施UCTs的潜在政策杠杆以及研究人员面临的关键未解决问题。
