Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-5g6vh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T08:12:40.369Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relation between social pensions and health among poor older individuals in Colombia: a qualitative study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 October 2020

Philipp Hessel Open the ORCID record for Philipp Hessel [Opens in a new window] ,
Laura C. López Open the ORCID record for Laura C. López [Opens in a new window] ,
Ivonne Ordóñez-Monak Open the ORCID record for Ivonne Ordóñez-Monak [Opens in a new window]  and
Catalina González-Uribe Open the ORCID record for Catalina González-Uribe [Opens in a new window]
Philipp Hessel*
Affiliation:
Alberto Lleras Camargo School of Government, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
Laura C. López
Affiliation:
Alberto Lleras Camargo School of Government, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
Ivonne Ordóñez-Monak
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics, Universidad Santo Tomás, Bogotá, Colombia Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
Catalina González-Uribe
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: p.hessel@uniandes.edu.co
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We assessed the relation between social pension benefits and health among poor older individuals in Colombia based on a qualitative case study (N = 51) using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Participants were beneficiaries of the Colombia Mayor social pension programme, recruited through snowball sampling in one rural and one urban area. Participants reported using cash benefits mainly for purchasing essential foods and medicines, as well as for paying for household utilities and satisfying personal needs. Beneficiaries of the programme view the latter as being positively associated with their health as it not only satisfies material needs but also increases their sense of autonomy, emotional wellbeing and also promotes a positive and cheerful attitude. Despite most beneficiaries perceiving the programme as positively associated with their health and wellbeing, results also highlight the importance of the various individual- as well as contextual-level factors in determining the relation between social pensions and health.

Keywords

social pensionageinghealthColombiaqualitative
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 5 , May 2022 , pp. 1159 - 1175
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aguila, E, Kapteyn, A and Smith, JP (2015) Effects of income supplementation on health of the poor elderly: the case of Mexico. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, 70–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aguila, E, Lopez-Ortega, M and Robledo, LMG (2018) Non-contributory pension programs and frailty of older adults: evidence from Mexico. PLOS ONE 13, e0206792.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bertranou, FM, Van Ginneken, W and Solorio, C (2004) The impact of tax-financed pensions on poverty reduction in Latin America: evidence from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay. International Social Security Review 57, 3–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnard, P (1991) A method of analysing interview transcripts in qualitative research. Nurse Education Today 11, 461–466.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, L, Liu, H, Zhang, Y and Zhao, Z (2018) The health implications of social pensions: evidence from China's new rural pension scheme. Journal of Comparative Economics 46, 53–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clert, C and Wodon, Q. (2001) The targeting of government programs in Chile: a quantitative and qualitative assessment. In The World Bank, (ed). Chile's High Growth Economy: Poverty and Income Distribution. Washington, DC: World Bank, pp. 143-166.Google Scholar
Cloos, P, Allen, CF, Alvarado, BE, Zunzunegui, MV, Simeon, DT and Eldemire-Shearer, D (2010) ‘Active ageing’: a qualitative study in six Caribbean countries. Ageing & Society 30, 79–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douglas, E (2002) Qualitative Analysis: Practice and Innovation. London: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Duflo, E (2000) Child health and household resources in South Africa: evidence from the old age pension program. American Economic Review 90, 393–398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duflo, E (2003) Grandmothers and granddaughters: old-age pensions and intrahousehold allocation in South Africa. The World Bank Economic Review 17, 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elo, S and Kyngäs, H (2008) The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing 62, 107–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, DK and Popova, A (2017) Cash transfers and temptation goods. Economic Development and Cultural Change 65, 189–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernald, LC, Gertler, PJ and Hou, X (2008) Cash component of conditional cash transfer program is associated with higher body mass index and blood pressure in adults. Journal of Nutrition 138, 2250–2257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galvani, F, Stefanoni, S and Williamson, C (2017) Cash Transfers and Older People's Access to Healthcare: A Multi-country Study in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. HelpAge International. Available at http://www.helpage.org/download/5927922f5dc28.Google Scholar
Giedion, U and Uribe, MV (2009) Colombia's universal health insurance system. Health Affairs 28, 853–863.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hessel, P, Avendano, M, Rodríguez-Castelán, C and Pfutze, T (2018) Social pension income associated with small improvements in self-reported health of poor older men in Colombia. Health Affairs 37, 456–463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huang, W and Zhang, C (2016) The power of social pensions. Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, Germany, IZA Discussion Paper 10425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Juárez, L and Pfutze, T (2015) The effects of a noncontributory pension program on labor force participation: the case of 70 y Más in Mexico. Economic Development and Cultural Change 63, 685–713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Juarez, L and Pfutze, T (2020) Can non-contributory pensions decrease food vulnerability? The case of Mexico. Empirical Economics 95, 1865–1882.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd-Sherlock, P (2006) Simple transfers, complex outcomes: the impacts of pensions on poor households in Brazil. Development and Change 37, 969–995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd-Sherlock, P, Barrientos, A, Moller, V and Saboia, J (2012 a) Pensions, poverty and wellbeing in later life: comparative research from South Africa and Brazil. Journal of Aging Studies 26, 243–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd-Sherlock, P, Minicuci, N, Beard, J and Chatterji, S (2012 b) Social protection and preventing illness in developing countries: establishing the health effects of pensions and health insurance. International Social Security Review 65, 51–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd-Sherlock, P, Saboia, J and Ramírez-Rodríguez, B (2012 c) Cash transfers and the well-being of older people in Brazil. Development and Change 43, 1049–1072.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayor's Office of Soacha (2015) Bienestar para todos y todas, plan de desarrollo. Available at http://www.alcaldiasoacha.gov.co/phocadownloadpap/Normatividad/Proyecto_de_normas_municipales/Proyecto_de_Decreto_Municipal/Plan_Desarrollo_2012_2015.pdf.Google Scholar
Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social de Colombia (2015) SABE Colombia 2015: Estudio Nacional de Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento. Available at https://www.minsalud.gov.co/sites/rid/Lists/BibliotecaDigital/RIDE/VS/ED/GCFI/Resumen-Ejecutivo-Encuesta-SABE.pdf.Google Scholar
National Gender and Equality Commission of Kenya (2014) Participation of Vulnerable Populations in Their Own Programmes: The Cash Transfers in Kenya. Available at https://www.ngeckenya.org/Downloads/cash-transfer-programme-vulnerable-groups-kenya.pdf.Google Scholar
Ocampo-Chaparro, JM, Reyes-Ortiz, CA, Castro-Flórez, X and Montes, JFG (2019) Frailty in older adults and their association with social determinants of health. The SABE Colombia study. Colombia Médica 50, 89–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank (2014) Pensions at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean. Paris: OECD Publishing.Google Scholar
Pega, F, Walter, S, Liu, SY, Pabayo, R, Lhachimi, SK and Saith, R (2017) Unconditional cash transfers for reducing poverty and vulnerabilities: effect on use of health services and health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 11, Art. No.: CD011135.Google ScholarPubMed
Pfutze, T and Rodríguez-Castelán, C (2019) Can a small social pension promote labor force participation? Evidence from the Colombia Mayor program. Economía 20, 111–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ponczek, V (2011) Income and bargaining effects on education and health in Brazil. Journal of Development Economics 94, 242–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritchie, J, Lewis, J, Nicholls, CM and Ormston, R (2013) Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Riumallo-Herl, C and Aguila, E (2019) The effect of old-age pensions on health care utilization patterns and insurance uptake in Mexico. BMJ Global Health 4, e001771.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salinas-Rodríguez, A, Torres-Pereda, DP, Manrique-Espinoza, B, Moreno-Tamayo, K and Solís, MMT-R (2014) Impact of the non-contributory social pension program 70 y más on older adults’ mental well-being. PLOS ONE 9, e113085.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stake, RE (1995) The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
World Bank (2011) Population Aging: Is Latin America Ready? (Directions in Development). Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Hessel et al. supplementary material

Appendix

Download Hessel et al. supplementary material(File)
File 16.1 KB