Integrated Health-Care and Employment Support Model for Low-Income Mothers
RCTReview
Low-income mothers receiving minimum cash transfers face combined physical, psychological, and labor-market obstacles that prevent them from increasing household earnings or re-entering the workforce.
Picture this
Trying to search for work while experiencing unaddressed physical pain or acute stress is like driving a vehicle with flat tires and an empty fuel tank. Fixing the engine (employment counseling) works best when simultaneously repair mechanics fix the tires and fill the tank (physiotherapy, psychological support, and medical diagnosis).
What the evidence says
Receiving the health-only intervention significantly enhanced participants' self-perceived capacity to secure employment, while both the employment and combined interventions resulted in statistically significant increases in earned income relative to the comparison group.
- Who was studied
- 851 minimum income recipient mothers aged 18–45 in Extremadura, Spain (214 employment treatment, 214 health treatment, 214 combined treatment, 209 comparison).
- How
- Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluating a 2-month multi-arm intervention comparing employment assistance, health services (medical diagnosis, psychology, physiotherapy), combined care, and standard support.
What to do
Offer vulnerable mothers receiving welfare benefits integrated access to physical and psychological healthcare consultations alongside personalized job matching and entrepreneurship counseling.
From the source
"The health intervention improved participants' capacity to secure employment. The employment and combined treatments had a positive impact on earned income, although the evaluation did not identify any effect on the number of days or hours worked."
promoting-labor-market-inclusion-policy-publication.pdf