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This paper draws on the experience of two Romani and three non‐Romani scholars in knowledge production on the health and social inequalities experienced by European Roma populations. Together, we explore how we might better account for, and work against, the complex web of dynamic oppressions embedded within processes of academic knowledge production. Our aim is to encourage careful scrutiny through which sociologists of health and illness might better recognise our own complicity with oppression and identify concrete actions towards transforming our research practices. Drawing on a well‐known domains of racism typology (Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 2019, 105), we use examples from our own work to illustrate three interconnected domains of oppression in which we have found ourselves entangled (structural, cultural and interpersonal). A new conceptual framework is proposed as an aid to understanding the spectrum of different "types" of complicity (voluntary–involuntary, conscious–unconscious) that one might reproduce across all three domains. We conclude by exploring how sociologists of health and illness might promote a more actively anti‐racist research agenda, identifying and challenging subtle, hidden and embedded negative ideologies and practices as well as more obviously oppressive ones. We hope these reflections will help revitalise important conversations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In common with other European welfare states, a large proportion of those who are out of work and claiming welfare benefits in the UK have long-term health conditions. The need to reduce the number of people who are claiming sickness related unemployment benefits by supporting them into paid work has been highlighted as a priority across the political spectrum since the late 1990s. However, recent years have seen a significant shift in UK welfare-to-work policy, with the introduction of the Work Programme in 2011. This unified programme diverges from earlier approaches in several important respects. The shift includes a move towards so-called 'black box' commissioning, through which contracted organizations are given far greater freedom to design and deliver their interventions. Therefore, important questions arise regarding whether and how support for claimants with health conditions will be provided across Work Programme areas and the implications for claimant outcomes. This article begins to address these questions by reviewing Work Programme Prime Contractors' ( Primes) proposed approaches as set out in their bids. Using a structured, interpretive analytical framework, bid documents prepared by the 18 Primes were reviewed and synthesized. The findings showed that individuals facing similar health-related obstacles to employment can expect to receive very different levels and types of support depending on which Primes' programme they are assigned to join. This review suggests that policy needs to ensure that claimants' health-related barriers to employment are addressed. Research to explore how claimants' health-related needs are being met in practice is also recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on survey and ethnographic data, this article presents empirical evidence regarding the impact of work participation on poor women's lives in urban Bangladesh. Working for pay is common among poor, married women in Dhaka and working women commonly make an important contribution to household income. There is evidence that working women are more likely to manage money, shop for household provisions and move about outside the home than non-working women. Working women also appear better able to accumulate personal assets and take steps to secure their own well-being. Despite such signs of challenge to‘traditional’ gender identity, social and economic structures continue to be heavily weighted against women, limiting the impact of employment on other dimensions of their lives. In the acutely insecure urban setting, women(and men) are found to pursue multiple strategies aimed at both securing‘centrality’ within their families, as well as protecting personal interests should familial entitlements prove unreliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative and quantitative data from the Urban Livelihoods Study (ULS) are used to describe the patterns of marriage, and in particular the rising incidence of marital instability, among the bustee (slum) population of Dhaka. The changing nature of bustee society provides greater options for women compared with their rural counterparts. Reduced social sanctions against divorce, dysfunction of the goshti, weaker familial ties and increased options for labour force participation are giving women greater freedom. Bustee women appear more able to avoid serious domestic violence by rejecting unfavourable marital ties. However, despite these factors, women are faced with a dilemma regarding marriage. Marital discord, insecurity and instability are high and yet marriage remains a necessity. The unstable nature of bustee life, harassment from men, social and economic dependency, the difficulty of returning to the village, and absence of strong kin networks, force women to marry. On balance, women appear to be suffering from the increasingly unstable and uncertain nature of marriage. The experience of marital breakdown has serious social and financial implications. Women living without husbands are poorer than their married counterparts. Children, too, are faring badly. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using qualitative and quantitative data from the Urban Livelihoods Study (ULS), this paper identifies illness as a key constraint on bustee (slum) households' ability to secure their livelihoods. The consequences of ill-health for bustee dwellers are examined and the coping strategies employed are described. The common responses to illness are found to often have negative implications for the human, material and social capital of households, thus making them ever more vulnerable. In order to redress this situation, action is needed on three fronts: reduction in the risks of morbidity, a large portion of which are poverty-related, stemming from poor living conditions and inadequate nutrition; provision of accessible affordable quality healthcare for adults; and complementary support measures to protect households and individuals from the knock-on effects of illness. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the Urban Livelihoods Study that has been conducted by the Institute for Development Policy Analysis and Advocacy in Bangladesh in the late nineties. Objectives of the study; Information on the contemporary discourses about urban vulnerability; Vulnerability issues which affect individuals.

Focuses on studies used to identify postpartum contraceptive use in the Bangladesh population. What was discovered by preferences and behaviors during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period in Bangladesh; Observation of preferences in family planning services; Discoveries made from studies conducted.