The impact of a small steady stream of income for women on family health and economic well-being.

Abstract Our Primary aim To evaluate the impact of a small steady stream of income on family health and well-being among rural women employed part-time in a health project in Sarlahi district, Nepal. All 870 women applying for the job of distributing nutritional supplements in their villages completed a questionnaire prior to selection for employment, 350 of whom were hired and 520 who were not. A total of 736 women completed a second questionnaire 2 years later, 341 (97.4%) of whom had been continuously employed during this period, and 395 (76.0%) who had never been employed by the project. Changes in health and well-being over 2 years were compared between women who were and were not hired. Women who were hired were younger and better educated, but were similar in other regards. After adjusting for selection differences, employed women were more likely to save cash, buy jewellery, and buy certain discretionary household goods over 2 years than those who were not hired. Expenditures on children's clothin...