Household socioeconomic variation, caregiver well-being, and selected early health-related indicators among families with children aged 0–3 years living in disadvantaged settlements in Hungary

Abstract

Household socioeconomic conditions during early childhood may be associated with caregiver well-being, parental health behaviors, dietary/feeding-related conditions, and selected preventive healthcare utilization indicators. This study aimed to explore how household-level socioeconomic factors were associated with respondent quality of life and selected early health-related indicators among families with children aged 0–3 years living in disadvantaged settlements in Hungary. This cross-sectional study was started in April 2026 among families with children aged 0–3 years participating in the Hungarian Closing Gap Settlements Program. Given the socially vulnerable and hard-to-reach context of families living in disadvantaged settlements, targeted field-based data collection and convenience sampling were applied. A total of 88 participants were included. Sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, dietary conditions, and preventive healthcare utilization were assessed using a self-developed questionnaire, while health-related quality of life was measured using the SF-36 questionnaire. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests, independent-samples t -tests, ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and Firth’s penalized logistic regression. Lower maternal educational attainment and poorer financial status were significantly associated with selected early health-related indicators, particularly dietary/feeding-related conditions and nutritional security. Children of mothers with lower educational attainment consumed sugary snacks more frequently ( p = 0.005). In Firth’s penalized logistic regression, families reporting an average financial situation had significantly lower odds of being unable to provide five daily meals compared with those reporting poor financial status (OR = 0.052; 95% CI = 0.0004–0.469; p = 0.005), while rare fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with significantly higher odds of being unable to provide five daily meals compared with daily consumption (OR = 11.506; 95% CI = 1.832–131.516; p = 0.008). In bivariate analyses, respondent mental health scores were lower among participants with poorer financial status and lower maternal educational attainment; however, these factors were not independently associated with mental health in the multivariable model. Participation in health visitor screenings was high (96.6%), whereas attendance at pediatric dental screenings was low (34.1%). Among families living in disadvantaged settlements, household-level socioeconomic indicators were associated mainly with respondent mental well-being and dietary/feeding-related indicators, including nutritional security. Preventive healthcare utilization indicators showed a heterogeneous and primarily descriptive pattern, with high participation in health visitor screenings and lower participation in pediatric dental screenings. These exploratory findings suggest that future preventive and supportive programs in disadvantaged settlements should consider within-population socioeconomic variation, caregiver well-being, and family-level nutritional security.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. BMC Public Health, 2026 · DOI ↗