Work

The impact of income support interventions on children’s long-term health trajectories: a systematic review

Year: 2025

Type: review

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The delivery of income support interventions at an early age has positive short-term health impacts on children. However, less is known about whether those effects are sustained later in life. We addressed this question by systematically reviewing the literature on long-term (i.e., assessed after 5 + years) health impacts of income support interventions delivered in preschool age (in utero to 5 years). METHODS: We focused only on experimental or quasi-experimental studies, without country restrictions. We retrieved studies from subject-specific databases for general, mental health, and economics, and from citation searching. All the retrieved literature was double-screened at the title, abstract, and full-text stages. We performed a data extraction of the relevant information from the eligible studies and synthesised them via a narrative synthesis approach. RESULTS: Nine studies, eight quasi-experimental and one randomised control trial, were deemed eligible, all conducted in high or middle-income countries. These studies assessed several health outcomes, including overall mortality, cause-specific hospitalisation, mental health, and anthropometrics. Consistent long-term health improvements were observed from early income support interventions exposure across all the health dimensions assessed. CONCLUSIONS: Despite knowledge gaps, especially in low-income countries, our results suggest that implementing income support interventions during preschool age can have a prolonged positive effect across several health dimensions. Implementing such policies and strategies would prove beneficial for health, alongside their main goal of reducing childhood poverty and health inequalities.

Source: BMC Public Health

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-25020-0

Authors: Francesca Candelora, Silvia Maritano, Costanza Pizzi, Matteo Richiardi, Lorenzo Richiardi, Delia Boccia

Institutions: Piedmont Reference Center for Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention, University of Turin, University of Essex, Azienda Ospedaliera Citta' della Salute e della Scienza di Torino

Language: English

Topic: Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, No poverty, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,290