Multidimensional poverty and welfare in developing urban areas

Abstract Multidimensional poverty extends beyond income deprivation. The study utilised Structural Equation Modelling to analyse the associations among multidimensional poverty, health status, and service satisfaction in Gauteng Province, South Africa. This secondary analysis utilised a dataset collected from 13,616 randomly sampled households across nine urban municipalities. Findings indicate that multidimensional poverty is significantly associated with poorer health outcomes, with statistically mediated associations through healthcare access, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), income, and food satisfaction, and is strongly associated with lower health service satisfaction, mediated by healthcare access, income, and food satisfaction. Targeted, integrated policy interventions that simultaneously improve healthcare access, income stability, and food security are required to mitigate these interconnected associations.