Perceptions of health and well-being among women in a work-based welfare program.

Unlabelled: Women who are single parents, poor, and employed in low-paying jobs have little choice about being dependent on public assistance programs to meet basic personal and family needs.

Objective: To explore women's perceptions of their health and well-being while enrolled in a work-based welfare program. This is the second in a series of articles about Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Design And Sample: Qualitative interviews and quantitative survey methods were used to explore perceptions of health and well-being in a purposive sample of mothers (n = 34) enrolled in a work-based welfare program in a city in the U.S. Midwest.

Methods: Instruments used were a semistructured interview guide, a demographic data form, and the General Well-Being Schedule (i.e., a survey tool developed for the U.S. Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). Data collection was completed in June 2000. The data were triangulated; using both quantitative and qualitative data added to the in-depth understanding of the subjects.

Results: Distress levels reported by participants were significantly higher than in the general U.S. population.

Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that current policies do not effectively support health and well-being of single mothers enrolled in work-based welfare programs.