Low-income parents' perspectives and experiences of engaging with early years health professionals about financial challenges and income maximisation. [FPH 2022 talk]

Douglas, Flora; MacIver, Emma; Davis, Tracy; Littlejohn, Chris

Abstract

Background: In a similar vein to wishing to understand health professionals experiences of the FIP, this element of the study was concerned to understand parents' perspectives about the acceptability or impact of this initiative in relation to its aim. Interviews with the participants took place and covered topics such as, household context, their perspectives and experiences of financial issues conversations during routine health care and perspectives of the benefits and possible negative consequences of the FIP concept. Recurrent themes associated with parent's careful budgeting to make ends meet and going without food and other personal expenditures as a related coping strategy, featured in the current study. This is a recurrent theme from a study of low-income family's experiences of parenting on a low income in Aberdeen City that I was commissioned to undertake in 2020. Personal experiences of food insecurity and concerns about the nutritional quality of the food they could feed their children, were also commonly reported in thins study as it was in 2020. However, admissions of living with debt featured more prominently in this study compared to the previous study. Having insufficient income to cover the costs of living, council tax and other debt associated with overpayment of benefits due to changed circumstances stories, were commonplace. Struggling with challenging debt repayment plans stories were also commonplace. Financial disempowerment due to the impact of a partner's income of the women/mother's eligibility for benefits was also a more obvious theme compared to the previous study. Critically …participants expressed there were or could be significant personal risks associated with disclosing financial hardship to health professional. These included it raising child protection concerns, - leading to referral so social services, exacerbating existing abusive partnership relationships and the fear of associated shame and embarrassment experienced in admitting hardship. These acted as powerful barriers to raising or discussing the issue. It is notable that professional participants are also sensitive and aware that parents might experience those challenges too.

Citation

DOUGLAS, F., MACIVER, E., DAVIS, T. and LITTLEJOHN, C. 2022. Low-income parents' perspectives and experiences of engaging with early years health professionals about financial challenges and income maximisation. Presented at 2022 Faculty of Public Health conference: public health: lighting the path for the next 10, 20, 50 years, 12-13 May 2022, [virtual conference].

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: 2022 Faculty of Public Health conference: public health (FPH 2022): lighting the path for the next 10, 20, 50 years
• Conference Location: [virtual conference]
• Start Date: May 12, 2022
• End Date: May 13, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 21, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 21, 2022
• Keywords: Child poverty action plans; NHS Grampian; Low-income parents; Health professionals; Financial challenges; Income
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1716666