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The Effect of Poverty on Children’s Health Outcomes in Mecklenburg County

Morgan Church, Amanda Denno, Dana Dziadul, and Hannah Monroe

School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

EDUC 583: Career and Professional Development

Dr. Helyne Frederick

October 29, 2020

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The Effect of Poverty on Children’s Health Outcomes in Mecklenburg County

Out of North Carolina’s 100 counties, Mecklenburg County is ranked sixth overall for the

health outcomes of its community members (County Health Rankings, 2020). Of those under the

age of 18, 18% are declared to be living in poverty. Poverty can have lasting impacts on children,

which can affect their future health risks and complications. Children growing up in poverty

often face obstacles in their academic pursuits and in their physical and mental health, including

a greater tendency for accidents and chronic health conditions (County Health Rankings, 2020).

While many factors contribute to these results, this report focuses on three important variables:

rates of food scarcity, violent crime, and lack of health insurance.

Findings

Food Scarcity

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the physiological needs of an individual must

be met before attending to any other needs. Without an adequate food supply, individuals are

unable to attend to higher needs of security, intimacy, or self-esteem. (Brendtro, 2019). It is

important to consider the availability of food in Mecklenburg County, therefore, in order to

understand the quality of life of its citizens. Mecklenburg receives a 7.4 out of 10 on the Food

Environment Index (Mecklenburg, 2020). While this score is higher than North Carolina’s score

of 6.7, it is lower than Orange County’s score of 7.5 and the United States’ score of 7.6. More

alarmingly, 56% of Mecklenburg children are eligible for free or reduced lunch, compared to

Orange County’s 30% eligibility in the same category. (Compare Counties, 2020).

Violent Crimes

According to Grinshteyn, Xu, Manteuffel, et al. (2018) violent crimes can be defined as

“murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbbery, and assault.” To understand the effect of
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poverty on children, one must recognize the correlation between poverty and crime. County

Health Rankings (2020) states that Mecklenburg County has 584 violent crimes per 100,000

people. North Carolina has 351 per 100,000 while the United States has 386. In comparison,

Orange County reported 160 violent crimes, a 3.5 increase over Mecklenburg (Compare

Counties, 2020). In the past five years, Mecklenburg and North Carolina have increased in

violent crime slightly, compared to Orange County’s slight decrease (Appendix A).

Lack of Health Insurance

People without insurance coverage have worse access to care than those who are insured.

In 2019, 8.0% of people in the United States did not have health insurance (United States Census

Bureau, 2020). Due to the current structure of the American healthcare system, these individuals

are disproportionately low-income and less educated workers. In Mecklenburg County, 13% of

the population is uninsured, which is on par with the NC average. This percentage is three points

higher than the US average and two points higher than the rate in Orange County (Compare

Counties, 2020). Encouragingly, the rates of both uninsured adults and children are decreasing in

Mecklenburg County (Appendix B). Much improvement is still needed to match the standard set

by the U.S., though. Also, the World Health Organization recognizes that “wealth enables people

to avoid most of the risks of developing chronic disease, and to obtain access to health care,” so

that those without access to healthcare are more likely to develop a chronic disease (WHO,

2015). Chronic disease can then worsen poverty by draining one’s economic prospects and

sending them into a downward spiral of worsening disease and poverty.

Conclusion

Overall, the data show that poor health conditions in Mecklenburg County are aligned

with the relatively high rate of poverty among its population, especially for young children. The
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effects of food scarcity, violent crime, and lack of health insurance are interdependent and

contribute to delays in the growth and development of children in the county. These effects can

be minimized, however, if strong implications are put in place by community members.

Implications

Based on the data from Feeding America (2020), it appears that the rates of food

insecurity for both the total population and the child population of Mecklenburg County have

been steadily decreasing (Appendix C). The predictions for food insecurity in 2020 as affected

by Covid-19, however, show a significant spike in these rates. It is imperative, therefore, that

even when children are not physically in school, they are still provided with meals by their

school system. It is unrealistic and unjust to expect children to engage in academic learning

without being properly nourished. To provide food for all students, schools can provide curbside

pick-up while under Covid-19 restrictions. Once schools reopen, the students and teachers can

work together to create a garden to which all students will have access throughout the year.

Additionally, due to stay-at-home orders resulting from Covid-19, overall crime and calls

for police services have decreased. However, specific offenses such as homicides and domestic

partner violence have seemed to increase (Boman & Gallupe, 2020). Policy makers and service

workers need to be aware of these changing conditions and provide safe resources for those who

may be at risk, including children and families.

Especially in the midst of Covid-19, policy improving insurance coverage that is

available and affordable to American citizens is critical. Lack of insurance coverage is associated

with “delay in seeking care, disease progression, and generally high mortality rate” (Addington,

1999). As can be seen through the rapid spread of Covid-19, lack of proper care for a single

individual can lead to mass infections within a broader community.

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References

Addington, W. (1999). No Health Insurance? It's Enough to Make You Sick - Scientific

Research Linking the Lack of Health Coverage to Poor Health. Retrieved 2020, from

https://www.acponline.org/acp_policy/policies/no_health_insurance_scientific_research_

linking_lack_of_health_coverage_to_poor_health_1999.pdf

Boman, J. H., 4th, & Gallupe, O. (2020). Has COVID-19 Changed Crime? Crime Rates in the

United States during the Pandemic. American journal of criminal justice : AJCJ, 1–9.

Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09551-3

Brendtro, L. K. (2019). Pathways From Pain To Resilience. International Journal of Child,

Youth and Family Studies, 10(2-3), 5-24. doi:10.18357/ijcyfs102-3201918850

United States Census Bureau. (2020, September 16). Income, Poverty and Health Insurance

Coverage in the United States. Retrieved October 26, 2020, from

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/income-poverty.html

Compare Counties. (2015). Retrieved October 18, 2020, from

https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-carolina/2015/compare/snapshot?

counties=37_119%2B37_135

Compare Counties. (2020). Retrieved October 18, 2020, from

https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-carolina/2019/compare/snapshot?

counties=37_119+37_135

Feeding America. (2020). Map the Meal Gap Data. Retrieved October 21, 2020, from

https://www.feedingamerica.org/research/map-the-meal-gap/by-county

Grinshteyn, E.G., Xu, H., Manteuffel, B. et al. The Associations of Area-Level Violent Crime
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Rates and Self-Reported Violent Crime Exposure with Adolescent Behavioral Health.

Community Ment Health J 54, 252–258 (2018). https://doi-

org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.1007/s10597-017-0159-y

Mecklenburg (MK). (2020). Retrieved October 12, 2020, from

https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-

carolina/2020/rankings/mecklenburg/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot

World Health Organization. (2015, December 21). Part Two. The urgent need for action.

Retrieved October 26, 2020, from

https://www.who.int/chp/chronic_disease_report/part2_ch2/en/
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Appendix A

Number of Violent Crimes Per 100,000 People in Mecklenburg County, Orange County, and

North Carolina (Compare Counties, 2015; Compare Counties, 2020)

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Appendix B

Percentage of Individuals Lacking Health Insurance in Mecklenburg County (Mecklenburg,

2020)
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Appendix C

Percentage of Mecklenburg County Population Facing Food Insecurity (Feeding America,

2020)