Table 2.
Maternal Health Literacy and Participation in Social Welfare Programs, unadjusted
| TANF | SNAP | WIC | Child Care subsidy |
Housing assistance |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | ||||||
| Number of mother-infant dyads | 558 | 560 | 560 | 557 | 560 | |
| Overall participation (%) | 51 | 65 | 69 | 12 | 59 | |
| Health Literacy (N, %) | ||||||
| Inadequate | 19 (33) | 32 (55) | 43 (74) | 7 (12) | 35 (60) | |
| Marginal | 39 (53) | 48 (65) | 51 (69) | 4 (6) | 51 (69) | |
| Adequate | 224 (53) | 286 (67) | 295 (69) | 54 (13) | 242 (57) | |
| P-value1 | 0.017 | 0.22 | 0.72 | 0.22 | 0.13 | |
| 6 month follow-up | ||||||
| Number of mother-infant dyads | 552 | 560 | 560 | 558 | 551 | |
| Overall participation (%) | 56 | 73 | 93 | 29 | 49 | |
| Health Literacy (N, %) | ||||||
| Inadequate | 23 (43) | 37 (64) | 57 (98) | 13 (22) | 30 (53) | |
| Marginal | 46 (63) | 53 (72) | 70 (95) | 25 (34) | 39 (54) | |
| Adequate | 238 (56) | 317 (74) | 395 (93) | 126 (30) | 200 (47) | |
| P-value1 | 0.069 | 0.25 | 0.21 | 0.33 | 0.47 | |
| 12 month follow-up | ||||||
| Number of mother-infant dyads | 476 | 478 | 477 | 475 | 475 | |
| Overall participation (%) | 47 | 71 | 87 | 37 | 48 | |
| Health Literacy (N, %) | ||||||
| Inadequate | 25 (43) | 42 (78) | 48 (89) | 14 (26) | 25 (46) | |
| Marginal | 36 (57) | 45 (71) | 56 (89) | 22 (35) | 36 (59) | |
| Adequate | 164 (46) | 254 (70) | 313 (87) | 141 (39) | 165 (46) | |
| P-value1 | 0.24 | 0.53 | 0.86 | 0.19 | 0.16 | |
| 18 month follow-up | ||||||
| Number of mother-infant dyads | 393 | 395 | 396 | 395 | 394 | |
| Overall participation (%) | 38 | 68 | 65 | 39 | 46 | |
| Health Literacy (N, %) | ||||||
| Inadequate | 17 (39) | 32 (73) | 29 (66) | 11 (25) | 24 (55) | |
| Marginal | 25 (45) | 38 (69) | 46 (84) | 22 (40) | 27 (49) | |
| Adequate | 106 (36) | 200 (68) | 183 (62) | 122 (41) | 130 (44) | |
| P-value1 | 0.41 | 0.78 | 0.007 | 0.12 | 0.38 | |
| 24 month follow-up | ||||||
| Number of mother-infant dyads | 416 | 418 | 415 | 417 | 414 | |
| Overall participation (%) | 37 | 69 | 53 | 36 | 37 | |
| Health Literacy (N, %) | ||||||
| Inadequate | 20 (43) | 30 (65) | 24 (52) | 10 (22) | 24 (53) | |
| Marginal | 28 (47) | 44 (75) | 39 (67) | 18 (31) | 29 (50) | |
| Adequate | 105 (34) | 214 (68) | 155 (50) | 123 (39) | 102 (33) | |
| P-value1 | 0.082 | 0.54 | 0.051 | 0.041 | 0.003 | |
1
P-value for the χ2 test of association between maternal health literacy and participation in social welfare programs. P < 0.01 is used as threshold for significance, as denoted in bold.