In an effort to estimate the magnitude of health improvements due to a proposed living wage ordinance in San Francisco, we applied published observational models of the relationship of income to health to predict improvements in health outcomes associated with proposed wage increases. Our results demonstrated that adoption of a living wage of $11.00 per hour predicted decreases in premature death from all causes (RH=0.94 (0.92-0.97) male; 0.96 (0.95-0.98) female) for a typical affected adult 24-44 years of age working full time and living in a family whose current income is $20,000. We also demonstrated that the living wage predicted increases in high school completion and decreases in teenage pregnancy as well as improvements in physical and mental health indicators. The magnitude of the health improvements predictably decreased with increasing current family income. While the analysis demonstrated that a living wage could produce substantial health benefits, the effectiveness of this analysis in informing legislative policy was limited by the lack of decision making frameworks to account for health consequences of economic policy and by the limited public awareness of the relationship between income and health. Developing effective health impact analysis strategies within political, institutional and legal frameworks could significantly reduce health disparities.
Learning Objectives: 1. Recognize the strengths and limitations of quantifying the health effects of public policies that change family income. 2. List three social, polictical,institutional or legal barriers to the application of health effects analysis to public policy. 3. Indentify one strategy to forward the application of health effects analysis to public policy.
Keywords: Public Health Policy, Social Inequalities
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.