Financial Strain and Health Status Among European Workers: Gender and Welfare State Inequalities. 2021

Lucía Artazcoz, and Imma Cortès-Franch, and Vicenta Escribà-Agüir, and Fernando G Benavides
Public Health Observatory, Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Objectives: Although in-work poverty has been increasing, in Europe policy about poverty and social exclusion tends to focus on labor market participation, independently of the level of remuneration and the quality of work, and studies about financial strain among workers, as well as on its relationship with health status, are still scarce. The objectives of this study were: (1) to compare the prevalence of financial strain among workers among different welfare state typologies, and (2) to examine whether the relationship between financial strain and health status differs by welfare state regime. For both objectives we examined whether there were gender differences. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the 6th European Working Conditions Survey of 2015 and selected a subsample of all employees from the EU28 aged 16-64 years (13,156 men and 13,225 women). Results: There were large differences in the prevalence of financial strain between welfare state typologies, which were not explained by individual factors. Additionally, differences across welfare regimes were greater among women. Nordic countries had the lowest prevalence (12.1% among men and 12.3% among women) whereas Southern European countries had the highest (49.5% among men and 47.9% among women). In both sexes and in all welfare state typologies, financial strain was associated with poor self-perceived health status and poor psychological well-being. Whereas, Southern European countries had the highest prevalence of financial strain, the magnitude of the association with health status was smaller than in other country typologies. Conclusion: In Europe, policies are needed to address the specific structural factors leading to financial strain as well as its relationship with health status among workers.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005060 Europe The continent north of AFRICA, west of ASIA and east of the ATLANTIC OCEAN. Northern Europe,Southern Europe,Western Europe
D005260 Female Females
D006304 Health Status The level of health of the individual, group, or population as subjectively assessed by the individual or by more objective measures. General Health,General Health Level,General Health Status,Level of Health,Overall Health,Overall Health Status,General Health Levels,Health Level,Health Level, General,Health Levels,Health Status, General,Health Status, Overall,Health, General,Health, Overall,Level, General Health,Levels, General Health,Status, General Health,Status, Health,Status, Overall Health
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012537 Scandinavian and Nordic Countries NORWAY; SWEDEN; DENMARK; ICELAND; and FINLAND. Scandinavia,Nordic Countries
D012946 Social Welfare Organized institutions which provide services to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology in the community. Community Services,Services, Community,Community Service,Service, Community,Welfare, Social

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