LIVING IN A HOUSING COOPERATIVE FOR LOW-INCOME WOMEN - ISSUES OF IDENTITY, ENVIRONMENT AND CONTROL

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how livin g on a low income affects the health of women and focused on the exper iences of women living in a new housing co-operative built exclusively for unattached, low income women of middle age. Initially, the main f ocus of this study was the health beliefs, concerns, and practices of women living on a low income. As the study evolved, however, the exper ience of living in the housing co-operative was of such concern to the participants that the effects of housing on health came to have great er importance. A qualitative method was used based on Spradley's ethno graphic method (Spradley, J. (1979). The ethnographic interview. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York). Data included interviews with ten v olunteer participants and field notes about these interviews and colle ction spanned a period of eight months. The major health issues that a rose for the women focused around the concepts of the identity, enviro nment and control. The women frequently mentioned aspects of the envir onment in regards to their health. The co-operative itself was an inte resting environment with the potential to reduce the women's sense of isolation. The social context of the co-operative, however, was often cited as a source of stress rather than support. One of the most strik ing and unexpected findings of this study was that the women did not i dentify with one another. The women interviewed perceived themselves a s a diverse group without a common identity; Finally, control emerged as a major:theme underlining the women's perceptions of health. When a sked to describe their lives, the women invariably began discussing co ping strategies they used to manage on a low income. One woman actuall y made the connection between poverty and a lack of control by definin g poverty as ''having no options''. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.