Sickness Among the “Depression Poor”

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Records of illness in 1933 and economic history from 1929 to 1932 have been collected on over 12,000 families. This paper presents preliminary results of the survey in 5 cities[long dash]Birmingham, Detroit, Greenville, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse, comprising 4,421 families and including 20,283 individuals. Results show a higher incidence of disabling illness among individuals in the lower income classes in 1932 than among individuals with higher incomes. Illness is highest among a group of the "depression poor" which was in reasonably comfortable circumstances in 1929 but had dropped to comparative poverty by 1932; their rate is higher than that of their more fortunate neighbors who suffered no drop in income and higher than the illness rate of the "chronic poor" who were in a condition of poverty even in 1929. Families containing only unemployed or part-time workers show a high incidence of disabling illness.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: