Social assistance, lone parents and health: what do we know, where do we go?

A mounting body of evidence indicates that lone mothers and their children are at higher risk of a variety of health problems. The dynamics of the relationship between social assistance, poverty and health are not well understood, and the study of this population presents substantial challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of the state of research on lone parents, social assistance and health in an effort to make recommendations that will move the research forward.

Reviews of the relevant literature and social policies were conducted to identify (1) trends in social assistance policy and the extent of interprovincial variation in policy, and (2) research gaps. A series of interviews were conducted with key informants in government, non-governmental organizations and academia to gather information regarding research obstacles, opportunities and priorities. Finally, a consensus-building workshop was held to form research recommendations.

A substantial degree of variation exists among provinces and territories with regard to social assistance policies. The nature of the variation, however, is complex and does not fall into tightly defined categories. This variation creates the possibility for "natural experiments" to examine the health implications of policies and practices. The pace of policy change, however, creates problems with respect to evaluation of specific policy initiatives. Interviewees and workshop participants recognized substantial impediments to research in this area, particularly regarding the availability of appropriate data.

A research agenda, data development and dissemination activities were proposed to increase the research activity; these would be based upon multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral collaborations using multiple methodologies. The creation of a multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral national consortium in social assistance and health, reflecting the appropriate mix of urban, rural, anglophone, francophone and First Nations communities, is proposed.