Poverty and Health Poverty can affect health in a number of ways. Study after study confirms that poverty affects health. And people on social assistance in Ontario today are undeniably poorer than they have been for a long, long time. Lower income has been linked with poor health such as perceived general health, prevalence of disability, birth weight, body height and prevalence of health complaints. In fact, poor children showed higher incidences of just about any health-related problem, however defined.
Men using homeless shelters in Toronto are more likely to die than men in the general population.
Researchers recently interviewed health service providers in downtown Toronto to investigate. And more, the cumulative impact of material deprivation, poorer health and social isolation has an affect on people s ability to return to employment, which, after all, is supposed to be the primary purpose of the program. This document does not contain footnotes. Download the complete document as an RTF file.