1.2 Growing up in poverty
How does poverty fit into the developmental health perspective?
Are children from families and communities with fewer resources necessarily destined to have poorer outcomes in health, learning and behaviour? We all know of examples in which that is not so.
At the same time, clearly, all over the world, poverty interferes with children’s rights to health and well-being. The developmental health perspective helps us understand how good conditions early in life set a strong foundation for what’s to follow.
A view of the world from space is beautiful. We all live on one planet but with many different realities that influence our lives and well-being. For many people, the different realities mean stark differences in long-term health, learning opportunities and well-being.
Why is it that some people and populations experience deprivation and extreme hardship while others do not?
Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, at the Aga Khan University, often uses an image of earth to begin a discussion on the disparities and inequalities of our world. Listen as he explains the metaphor.
Clearly poverty can be a major factor in jeopardizing children’s future capacity to be strong, healthy adults, able to fully participate in life.
UNICEF regularly publishes a report card on child well-being in the richest countries. Explore the Report Card 18 website. How is Canada doing in terms of progress to reduce child poverty? What is the child poverty rate in Canada?
The next website is from the Conference Board of Canada and looks at provincial and territorial poverty rankings as well as comparisons with other countries. Scroll down to see child poverty details and see Canada’s ranking among the 16 peer countries.
Did Canada’s ranking surprise you? Why or why not?
How does poverty, and specifically child poverty, look in the region of Canada where you live?
The next reading examines poverty in the United States. The authors summarize what is known about the experience of early life poverty on later outcomes along with solutions to ameliorate the negative impact of poverty.
How does the information in this reading relate to the information in the Brain Development module?
The reading refers to issues and policies in the United States. How does this compare to other countries you are familiar with?
Denny and Brownell (2010) point out there are many material factors associated with poverty, which can negatively impact health. Some examples are: inadequate housing, food insecurity, limited access to nutritious/fresh food, exposure to heat and cold, exposure to toxins and poor air quality, and limited access to libraries and cultural activities. There are also psychosocial stressors that low-income children are more likely to experience, such as hunger, crowded living conditions, exposure to violence in the community, family turmoil and chaotic routines. These conditions can mean that children in lower socioeconomic (SES) groups can have a higher allostatic load than those in higher SES groups. As discussed in the Brain Development module, allostatic load is the accumulation of stressful experiences that can have negative physiological effects on the body.
In the next video, Dr. Noralou Roos, founder of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy at the University of Manitoba, discusses how income disparity affects health. She ends by comparing the impacts of cancer and low-income on life expectancy.
Roos mentions the negative effects of poverty on children’s health seem to be more apparent in the first few years and then again in adolescence – but not so much between ages four and 11. What might be some reasons for this?
Were you surprised by the finding in the Duke University study that poverty has more effect on life expectancy than the risk of cancer? Why might this be?
Researchers and others caution it is important to think carefully about what constitutes child poverty. Does a family’s income alone determine whether children are growing up in poverty or are there other factors that are equally, if not more important? What might these be – and more importantly, what kinds of supports are most effective in supporting child development in contexts where material resources are limited?
Why, with limited material resources, do some families and communities do well while others do not?
Indigenous child poverty in Canada
The high level of poverty among Indigenous children in Canada has been a national disgrace for decades. Indigenous children are twice as likely to be living in poverty than their non-Indigenous counterparts with the rate climbing to 60% of all children on reserves. The following infographic was developed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, based on the report, Shameful Neglect: Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada (Macdonald & Wilson, 2016). What can you learn from this infographic?
Read the following report and explore alarming data documenting the rates of child poverty faced by Indigenous children throughout Canada. The report discusses the geographic nature of child poverty, tiers of poverty and the experience of poverty beyond income levels.
What are the three tiers of poverty, and how do these relate to different Indigenous populations? Note the infographic in Appendix 3 for a concise summary.
How have poverty rates changed over time?
How do conditions such as poorly funded schools and services, inadequate housing, and contaminated water all intensify the issues faced by those in poverty?
How can this information be used to address the issue of child poverty?
A global perspective on child poverty
In October, 2016, UNICEF and the World Bank produced a briefing note on ending extreme poverty. The report contains very useful data on how and where children are most affected by poverty globally.
In the next clip, Dr. Maureen Black, at the University of Maryland, explains some of the deficits and some interventions that show positive impacts on children born into poverty.
Black’s comments focus on poverty in the majority world. How do you think they relate to poverty in Canada?
The next video takes us to the remote Wakhan Valley, in northeastern Afghanistan, one of the poorest districts in that country. The images show the living circumstances and some daily experiences of young children and families. As you watch, think about the complex nature of child poverty.
Based on this brief glimpse, what do you see as positive aspects of life for children growing up in this region of the world?
What might be some of the challenges?
How does this relate to what you have learned so far about the complexity of children’s experiences of poverty?
The following article by Sheridan Bartlett and Alberto Minujin introduces a series of papers on children’s environments in the context of rethinking poverty and provides an insightful overview into some of the issues in assessing children’s experience of poverty.
In summary, developmental health tells us that all markers of healthy development are interrelated and intersect – for individuals and on a population basis. If families are well during a mother’s pregnancy, babies and children have their physical needs met and are loved and nurtured, there are educational opportunities, and social and racial equity, the health of the entire population benefits.
